ARBITRARY  ARRESTS 

IN  THE   SOUTH; 


OR, 


SCENES 


FROM    THK 


EXPERIENCE  OE  AN  ALABAMA  UNIONIST. 


BY 


R.   S.   THARIN,   A.M., 

A   NATIVE  OP  CHARLESTON,  S.  C.  ;   FOR  THIRTY  YEARS  A  RESI 
DENT   OP  THE  COTTON   STATES,   AND   COMMONLY  KNOWN 
IN  THE  WEST  AS   "  THE  ALABAMA  REFUGEE." 


NEW    YORK: 
PUBLISHED    BY   JOHN   BRADBURN, 

(SUCCESSOR   TO   M.    DOOLADY,) 

49  WALKER-STREET. 

1  863. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1S63, 
BY  E.  S.  THAEIN, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States 
for  the  Southern  District  of  New  York. 


RENNIE,  SHEA  &  LINDSAY, 
STKKKOTYPEHS  AND  EI.KCTROTYPBRS, 


R.    CRAIG  HEAD, 
Printer. 


81,  83  &  85  Centre-street, 

NEW  VOBK  81,83  &  85  CSNTKK-ST. 


TO    THE 

"POOR    WHITE    TRASH" 

OF    THE    SOUTH, 

AND 

"THE    MUDSILLS" 

OF   THE   NOKTII, 
THIS    AUTOBIOGRAPHY    IS    RESPECTFULLY 


15  Y   THEIR   FELLOW-CITIZEX   AND   ADVOCATE, 

THE    AUTHOR. 


222205 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

INTRODUCTION — In  which  the  author,  by  irrefragable  tes 
timony,  establishes  his  claim  to  the  reader's  confidence.  11 

SCENE   THE  FIRST. 
THE  LAWYER'S  OATH 47 

SCENE   THE   SECOND. 
SOUTHERN  RIGHTS 83 

SCENE   THE   THIRD. 
THE  VIGILANCE  COMMITTEE 105 

SCENE   THE  FOURTH. 
THE  MOB 121 

SCENE   THE  FIFTH. 
THE  VERDICT 145 

SCENE   THE   SIXTH. 
IN  EXILIUM 166 

SCENE  THE   SEVENTH. 

"THE  CITY  OF  THE  GREAT  KING"  (COTTON);  or,  Mont 
gomery  as  Capital  of  the  Confederate  States  in  Feb 
ruary  ,"l861 194 

LETTER  from  the  Author  to  his  Mother,  in  Charleston, 
S.  C.  .  ...  241 


PREFACE* 


THE  hoar  has  at  last  arrived,  when  the  truth,  long 
trampled  under  the  feet  of  frenzied  rnobs,  must  be  heard 
in  the  South ;  and  when  the  conservative  element  of  the 
North,  long  lost  sight  of  and  denied,  must  be  attended 
to  and  obeyed. 

The  time  when  conservative  views  (Unionism)  have 
been  visited  with  "punishment"  in  the  South,  is  passing 
away ;  and  the  time  when  the  same  conservative  pa 
triotism  was  brow-beaten  in  the  North,  is  also  passing 
away. 

The  liberty  of  speech,  the  rights  of  personal  liberty, 
personal  security,  and  personal  property — these  must 
hereafter  remain  intact  from  the  inroads  of  Radicalism 
in  both  sections. 

In  this  great  hour  of  national  purification,  it  is  crim 
inal  to  advocate  the  perpetuation  of  selfish  feuds.  Un 
less  the  factious  ravings  of  Radicalism  be  quelled,  the 
Union  cannot  be  restored.  Radicalism  caused  our 
troubles  ;  conservatism  alone  can  cure  them  ! 

If  the  cotton-planters  calculated  on  the  radical  course 
Abolition  has  been  pursuing, — -denying  the  existence  of 
any  Union  feeling  in  the  South,  and  forcing  down  the 
throats  of  truer  men  than  themselves,  their  own  wild  doc- 

*  Written  before  the  Proclamation  of  the  President,  and  be 
fore  the  22(1  of  September,  1802. 
1* 


6  MJKFACE. 

trines  as  a  test  of  loyalty, — if,  I  say,  the  courtiers  of 
"King  Cotton"  based  their  calculations  on  such  a  course 
in  the  present  administration,  and  if  they  acted  purposely 
to  produce  that  very  effect,  then  has  their  rascality  been 
equaled  by  their  skill  and  foresight,  and  we  must  yield 
them  our  admiration  as  statesmen,  although  we  must 
execrate  them  as  men. 

Again,  if  the  advocates  of  Radical  Abolition  com 
pletely  alienate  the  two  sections,  in  order  to  preserve 
the  Union,  then  their  statesmanship  is  worthy  of  the 
contempt  of  all  history  ;  and  their  hypocrisy  will  receive 
its  just  reward  from  the  hands  of  an  indignant  and  long- 
suffering  citizen  soldiery ! 

No  one  denies  that  slavery  is  an  evil ; 

No  one  denies  that  adultery  is  an  evil ; 

But  the  Shakers,  who  advocate  absolute  non-inter 
course  between  the  sexes  in  order  to  destroy  adultery, 
are  not  a  whit  less  ridiculous  than  those  Abolitionists 
who  advocate  the  utter  extermination,  or  provincial  vas 
salage,  of  the  people  of  the  South  in  order  to  destroy 
slavery.  They  would  "  make  a  wilderness,  and  call  it 
peace." 

The  personal  narrative  which  follows,  embraces  the 
record  of  that  Unionist  who,  although  a  Southerner  by 
birth,  claims  the  honor  of  having  dealt  the  first  bloiv 
against  Secession,  and  who  narrowly  escaped  to  tell  the 
tale. 

While  lie  avoids  all  allusion  to  slavery,  except  in 
cidentally  to  his  narrative,  it  will,  nevertheless,  be  seen 
that  he  considers  himself  as  owing  no  allegiance  to  any 
one  institution,  North  or  South,  however  "peculiar,"  un 
less  that  institution  retain  its  proper  dimensions  among 
others. 


PREFACE.  i 

The  reader  is  invited  to  the  following  pages,  as  a 
chapter  in  this  strange  Rebellion,  wherein  he  may  learn 
how  "  Southern  Rights"  were  respected  in  Alabama,  in 
the  person  of  a  non-slaveholder  of  that  State, — a  native 
of  South  C.-ivKii.i,  a  graduate  of  the  College  of  Charles 
ton,  S.  C.,  and  a  former  law-partner  of  William  L.  Yan- 
cey, — whose  only  offense  consisted  in  his  being  true  to 
his  oath  to  support  the  Union,  and  the  Constitutions,  re 
spectively,  of  the  United  States  and  of  Alabama. 

There  are  some  beings,  who,  wearing  the  form  of  man, 
consider  it  the  sacred  duty  of  every  one  to  think  with 
the  crowd  who  happen  to  surround  him  at  the  time  of  his 
utterances.  According  to  this  very  large  class,  which 
has  its  representatives  in  every  age  and  clime,  sodomy 
was  right  until  Sodom  was  destroyed.  The  only  idea 
they  have  formed  of  LOT,  is,  that  public  opinion  now 
sustains  his  course,  and,  therefore,  they  sustain  it  also. 
Had  they  inhabited  Sodom,  however,  in  LOT'S  own 
time,  they  would  have  vociferously  condemned  the  old 
patriarch  as  eccentric,  and  would  have  been  as  noisy  as 
the  other  Sodomites  in  the  mob,  which  they  would 
have  certainly  joined,  as  a  sacred  duty  to  sodomy  and 
Sodom. 

There  is  another  class,  who  would,  to-day,  justify  the 
mob  of  Sodom,  as  having  acted  to  the  best  of  their 
knowledge  and  belief. 

Another  class  seize  upon  an  inflamed  state  of  public 
opinion,  to  launch  upon  their  neighbors  unmitigated 
evils,  on  which  they  fatten  and  grow  great  at  the  public 
cost. 

I  may  add  still  another  sort  of  human  beings,  who, 
availing  themselves  of  a  status  belli,  exasperate  the  bel 
ligerents  and  the  struggle  itself,  in  order  to  carry  a  cer- 


8  rtJKFAOK. 

tain  point  by  its  prolongation.  Every  new  element  of 
vindictiveness  and  of  barbarism,  which  is  added  by  any 
cause, — even  by  the  defeat  in  battle  of  their  own  side,— 
they  hail  as  a  promise  of  the  success  of  their  own  fanatical 
notions. 

The  first  class,  represented  in  this  unhappy  country 
by  the  Secessionists  of  the  South,  will  have  neither  the 
desire  nor  the  opportunity  to  listen  to  reason  until  mob- 
ocracy  shall  have  received  a  check  from  the  outraged 
people  of  the  South. 

The  second,  "of  which  the  traitors  of  the  States  still 
loyal  are  an  example,  have  the  opportunity,  but  not  the 
desire,  to  hear  the  truth.  Because  they  see  around  them 
much  to  condemn,  they  discover  in  Jeff.  Davis  every  thing 
to  praise.  They  offer  but  an  apology  for  treason. 

The  third  class  is  to  be  seen  in  the  perjured  leaders  of 
the  Rebellion.  They  seized  upon  an  inflamed  state  of 
feeling  which  they  themselves  had  excited,  to  bring  upon 
the  country  a  revolution,  which  they  are  to  ride,  they 
hope,  into  power  and  greatness.  Under  the  cry  of 
"  Southern  Rights,"  they  openly  trample  upon  Southern 
Rights. 

The  other  class — the  Radicals  of  the  North — seize 
upon  the  belligerent  state  of  the  country  as  a  glorious 
opportunity  for  the  consummation  of  their  cherished 
plans,  and,  in  order  to  bring  about  the  emancipation  of 
the  slave,  deliberately  render  it  almost  impossible  to 
save  the  Union,  or  close  the  war.  Under  the  cry  of 
"the  war  for  the  Union,"  they  fight  against  the  Union.* 

*  I  beg  pardon, — they  do  not  fight  for  any  thing.  They 
"  stay  at  home  in  order  to  shape  the  policy  of  the  Nation." — 
Vide  Fremont's  speech  at  Boston  this  month  (Sept.,  1862  >. 

Tli us,  like  the  Radicals  of  the  South,  who,  after  precipitat- 


PREFACE.  9 

But  there  is  another  class  of  men,  who,  aware  of  the 
existence  and  motives  of  all  the  others,  will  yet  pursue 
the  even  tenor  of  their  own  way,  and  who,  before  com 
ing  to  a  conclusion  on  public  or  private  matters,  will 
weigh  the  arguments  on  both  sides,  and  judge  for  them 
selves,  in  accordance  with  the  facts. 

I  believe  this  class  to  be  scattered  over  the  length 
and  breadth  of  this  whole  nation,  both  in  loyal  and  dis 
loyal  communities,  and  to  them  I  appeal  for  a  hearing 
and  a  just  verdict. 

To  the  historian — if  he  belong  to  this  class — I  am  not 
unwilling  to  leave  the  rest. 
WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  Sept.  11,  1862. 


ing  their  poorer  neighbors  into  bloodshed  and  ruin,  are  exempt 
from  conscription,  if  owners  of  twenty  negroes,  these  Radi 
cals  of  the  North,  after  having  deceived  hundreds  of  thousands 
by  the  cry,  now,  alas !  no  longer  true,  even  in  semblance,  "  the 
war  for  the  Union,"  exempt  themselves  from  service  in  the 
field,  if  stealers  of  one. 

"  Were  I  the  Queen  of  France,  or  what's  better,  Pope  of  Rome 
I'd  have  no  fighting  men  abroad  nor  weeping  maids  at 

home ; 
All  the  world  should  be  at  peace,  and  if  fools  must  show  their 

might, 

Why  let  those  who  made  the  battles,  be  the  only  ones  to 
fight."  Old  Song. 


INTKODUCTION* 


IN  the  month  of  February,  in  the  year  of  our 
Lord  1861,  and  of  American  Independence  the 
85^A,  there  appeared  in  Cincinnati  a  homeless  ref 
ugee,  whose  heart  was  almost  broken,  and  whose 
sensitive  soul  was  writhing  under  wrongs,  which 
his  unassisted  efforts  had  been  insufficient  to  obvi 
ate  or  resist. 

The  victim  of  that  most  untamable  of  all  wild 
beasts,  an  infuriated  and  unreasoning  mob,  he  had 
been  exiled  from  his  native  South,  because  the 
oath  he  had  taken  to  support  the  Constitutions  of 
Alabama  and  of  the  Union,  he  kept  with  scrupu 
lous  and  undisguised  devotion  to  truth  and  patriot 
ism.  The  Southern  newspapers  favorable  to 
Secession,  were  loud  in  their  hired  denunciations. 
The  Charleston  Courier,  a  paper  which  opposed 
Secession  in  1852,  denominated  him  a  "  renegade" 
who  opposed  it  in  1861.  His  offense  consisted  in 
undeviating  and  unadulterated  UNIONISM  ! 

O 

It  is  to  the  personal  narrative  of  that  political 
refugee,  that  the  reader's  indulgent  attention  is 
respectfully  invited.  It  will  be  advisable  to  de 
tain  the  reader,  in  limine,  in  order  to  explain  mat 
ters  necessary  for  the  comprehension  of  the  in- 

*  In  sinsAVfir  to  the  question,  "  "Who  is  IIP  V" 


12 


INTRODUCTION. 


terior  and  exterior  life  wliicli  is  recorded  in  the 
ensuing  pages. 

My  first  care  was  to  find  some  one  who  woukl 
recognize  me.  I  was  not  about  to  skulk  through 
the  world  like  a  whipped  cur,  but  to  appeal  from 
my  persecutors  to  the  true,  the  brave,  and  the 
conservative  all  over  the  country.  I  was  not 
ashamed,  but  proud  of  the  cause  of  my  expatria 
tion  ;  and  I  was  conscious  that  misfortune  can 
never 'overcome  entirely  a  true  and  loyal  heart, 
unless  that  misfortune  be  deserved. 

I,  therefore,  consulted  a  Directory,  proceeded  to 
the  a  Cincinnati  Female  Academy,"  inquired  for 
Professor  Milton  Sayler  (since  a  prominent  mem 
ber  of  the  Ohio  Legislature),  who  had  met  me  at 
Richmond,  Ya.,  in  1857,  at  a  "  Convention  of  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Associations  of  the  United 
States  and  British  Provinces."  By  him  I  was 
immediately  recognized,  and  introduced,  by  let- 
t'T,  to  Rev.  E.  G.Robinson,  pastor  of  the  9th-street 
Baptist  Church,  and,  through  him,  to  the  member 
ship  generally. 

It  would  be  voluminous  to  mention  all  the  good 
people  who  sympathized  with  me.  Levi  Coffin, 
a  noble  Quaker,  afforded  the  exile  an  asylum  be 
neath  his  roof.  Col,  B.  P.  Baker,  a  young,  talent 
ed,  and  Christian  merchant,  now  doing  business  at 
02  Front-street,  New  York,  showed  me  every 
kindness.  Judge  Bellamy  Storer  I  was  happy  to 
include  among  my  warm  personal  friends.  He 
indorsed  a  letter  from  me  to  his  friend,  the  Presi- 


INTRODUCTION.  13 

dent,  asking  for  my  appointment  as  commissioner 
to  Europe,  to  repel  the  misstatements  of  the  rebel 
commissioners,  among  whom,  it  will  be  remem 
bered,  was  William  L.  Yancey,  my  former  law- 
partner,  whose  antecedent  rascalities,  and  pro- 
&\a,ve-trade  proclivities,  had  come  under  my  own 
observation  in  Alabama.  Judge  J.  B.  Stallo  was 
peculiarly  kind  and  sympathizing.  Commissioner 
Schwartz  assisted  me  in  sending  for  my  family, 
and  did  all  he  could  to  smooth  my  pathway  among 
strangers. 

I  soon  began  to  find  myself  an  object  of  public 
interest.  The  newspapers  formally  announced 
my  presence  in  the  city.  I  became  a  subject  of 
constant  conversation  and  comment.  I  need  not 
say  how  unsolicited  and  how  unpleasant  were  the 
every-day  attentions  which  were  becoming  fashion 
able.  The  Unionists  hailed  my  presence  as  a 
proof  of  the  wickedness  of  Secession.  The  Abo 
litionists  hailed  my  advent  as  a  proof  of  the  wick 
edness  of  Slavery.  I  was  not  a  little  amused  by 
the  persistent  suggestions  of  the  latter,  who  con 
sidered  me  as,  ex  necessitate,  one  of  their  number. 
One  of  the  ladies  who  resided  at  "  Friend  Coffin's," 
told  me  I  ought  to  have  received  "  seventy  eight 
lashes,  well  laid  on,  to  make  me  an  Abolitionist." 
This  lady,  who,  in  other  respects,  is  quite  rational, 
although  not  national,  commences  her  surname 
with  a  "  C"  and  concludes  it  with  an  "  n."  Her 
first  name  is  Elizabeth. 

A  Mr.  Essex,  from  Missouri,  was  also  an  in- 


INTRODUCTION. 

mate.  He  was  a  democrat  and  a  gentleman,  who 
sympathized  with  my  sufferings,  and  will  testify 
to  these  facts. 

I  had  been  able  to  bring  to  Cincinnati  no  docu 
mentary  proof  of  the  correctness  of  my  statements  ; 
and  this  circumstance  began  to  operate  upon  the 
minds  of  some  who  had  never  seen  me,  and  whose 
politics  were  never  considered  particularly  obnox 
ious  to  Jeff.  Davis.  Started  by  these,  surmises 
began  to  travel  through  the  community  as  to  my 
loyalty,  veracity,  etc. 

These  surmises  soon  became  rumors,  which  be 
came  magnified,  in  timid  eyes,  to  the  most  ludi 
crous  proportions.  Not  hearing  these  things  my 
self,  and  not  supposing  such  things  possible  among 
sensible  people,  I  was  somewhat  startled  to  see  in 
the  columns  of  the  Cincinnati  Enquirer ,  a  short 
editorial,  saying  I  had  not  told  the  truth  in  de 
claring  myself  a  former  partner  of  Yancey ;  that 
I  was  but  a  law-student  in  his  office  at  most, 
as  my  youthful  appearance  would  show.  These 
wonderful  outgivings  of  those  "pantalooned  old 
women"  who  began  to  look  upon  me  as  a  Seces 
sion  bomb-shell  about  to  explode  in  the  streets  of 
Cincinnati  and  deprive  them  of  their  modicum  of 
brains,  were  suddenly  brought  to  a  close  by  the 
two  following  extracts,  one  from  the  Maysville 
(Ky.)  Eagle,  the  other  from  the  Cahawba  (Ala 
bama)  Gazette. 

The  following,  which  I  mention  first,  occurred 
last  in  point  of  time,  but  I  place  it,  in  substance, 


INTRODUCTION.  15 

here,  in  order  to  comment  upon  the  other  extract 
referred  to : 

"  R.  S.  Tharin,  Esq.,  a  former  law-partner  of  William  L. 
Yancey,  was  mobbed  at  Collirene,  Lowndes  county,  Alabama, 
and  exiled  because  lie  opposed  Secession  with  its  own  weap 
ons — secret  leagues ! 

"  So  that  is  the  way  you  manage  down  in  Dixie !  Mr.  Yan- 
cey  may  get  up  a  '  secret  league'  to  destroy  the  old  Union  ; 
but  the  moment  his  former  law-partner,  Mr.  Tharin,  attempts 
to  counteract  his  plans  by  a  similar  method  of  procedure,  he 
is  barbarously  maltreated  and  unconstitutionally  exiled. 

"Mr.  Tharin  is  now  a  political  refugee,  who,  in  his  own 
person,  is  a  monument  at  once  of  his  own  daring  and  of  the 
unsparing  villainy  of  his  persecutors." 

This  needs  no  comment ;  it  speaks  for  itself. 

It  will  be  proper  to  state  that  the  Cahawba 
Gazette  is,  or  was,  when  it  could  get  paper,  pub 
lished  in  Dallas  county,  Alabama.  The  Cincin 
nati  Daily  Press  copied  from  it  the  following  : 

From  the  Cahaicba  (Ala.)  GAZETTE. 

"  ORDERED  OFF. — We  learn  from  Col.  R.  Rives,*  Collirene, 
Lowndes  county  (Alabama),  that  a  man  named  Robert  S. 
Tharin,  a  lawyer  of  Wetumpka  (Ala.),  was  taken  up  at  Colli 
rene  last  week,  tried  by  a  jury  of  citizens,  convicted,  punished, 
and  banished  from  that  community  for  expressing  and  en 
deavoring  to  propagate  sentiments  that  were  dangerous  to  the 
peace  of  society.  He  had  conversed  with  several  non-sl&ve- 
holders  in  the  neighborhood,  and  proposed  to  them  the  or 
ganization  of  a  secret  Abolition  society,  and  said  he  was 
going  to  establish  a  newspaper  (at  Montgomery),  to  be  called 
the  Non-Slaveholder.  The  evidence  against  him  was  conclu 
sive.  The  punishment  inflicted  was  physically  slight,  although 
it  was  degrading." 

•"  Pronounced  Recces. 


1C  INTRODUCTION. 

There  are  several  features  of  this  short  editorial 
which  would  repay  criticism : 

1st.  ITS  THOROUGH  MENDACITY;  that  word,  "Ab 
olition,"  the  "  fruitful  source  of  all  our  woe,"  being 
skillfully  interpolated  for  the  basest  of  purposes. 
The  thing  itself,  as  predicated,  was  a  physical  im 
possibility.  In  the  whole  cotton  region  there  are 
not,  and  never  have  been  (as  every  Southern  man 
knows),  enough  Abolitionists  to  form  a  "  society" 
of  fifty  ;  nor  can  any  one — not  even  a  sap-headed 
editorial  tool  of  "  King  Cotton" — really  suppose 
that  I  would  be  now  living  to  narrate  the  events 
of  my  miraculous  escape,  had  I  been  actually  con 
victed  of  that  greatest  offense  known  to  the  mob 
in  the  Sunny  South.  They  would  have  hanged 
me  without  even  the  form  of  a  trial.  The  pub 
lication  of  the  charge  was  intended  to  consum 
mate  my  destruction,  because  Col.  Robert  Hives 
desired  to  destroy  my  testimony  (which  he  knew 
he  could  only  do  by  destroying  my  life),  and  thus 
to  "  save  his  party." 

2d.  ITS  UNBLUSHING  EFFRONTERY.  I  "  danger- 
ous  to  the  peace  of  society!"  Why,  look  at  this 
Rebellion !  look  at  its  assassinations,*  its  unparal 
leled  outrages  upon  American  citizens  —  upon 
natives  of  the  South !  look  at  its  bloody  hands, 
which  would  "  incarnadine  the  deep"  in  the  effort 


*  Dr.  James  Slaughter,  to  whom  was  addressed  the  famous 
Slaughter  (scarlet)  Letter  by  Yancey,  soon  after  his  (unau 
thorized)  publication  of  that  "  private  letter,"  was  found  dead 
in  his  bed,  from  the  effects  of — poison  ! 


1 N  TRODUCT  ION .  1 7 

to  wash  them  clean  !  look  at  its  mobs — at  one 
time  burning  (at  Montgomery,  Alabama)  the 
works  of  the  distinguished  Spurgeon  ;  at  another, 
drunk  with  blood  and  blind  with  fury,  sipping 
out  of  the  skulls  of  slaughtered  soldiers !  Yes, 
look  at  its  mobs,  at  its  pirates,  at  its  utter  destitu 
tion  of  moral  principle,  at  its  Radicalism,  and  say 
whether,  in  my  attempt  to  restrain  Alabama  from 
Secession,  /  was  dangerous  to  the  peace  of  society  ! 

3d.    ITS    INSOLENT  AND    SILLY   CHARGES.        "  He  (I) 

had  conversed  with  several  new-slaveholders  in 
the  neighborhood."  "  Conversation"  with  "  non- 
slaveholders"  a  crime !  I  consider  it  a  glorious 
thing  to  tell  the  non -slaveholders  of  their  wrongs 
and  of  their  rights — "Southern  rights!"  So  far 
from  conversation  with  non-slaveholders  being  a 
crime,  you  will  yet  learn  to  your  own  cost,  Mr. 
Editor,  that  it  is  conversation  (and  coalition)  with 
cotton-planters  and  their  editorial  dupes,  that  con 
stitutes  the  political  crime  of  treason ! — another 
name  for  which  is  Radicalism. 

"  And  proposed  to  them  the  organization  of  a 
secret  Abolition  society  !"  When  Robert  Rives 
inserted  that  word  "Abolition,"  he  thought  he 
did  a  politic  thing.  He  had  told  me,  after  my 
maltreatment,  I  "  should  not  escape."  He  was 
determined  I  should  die  l>y  another  mob,  since 
he  had  failed  to  convince  the  second  that  "  death 
Avas  not  too  severe  a  punishment ;"  and  so  he 
thought  he  would  slay  me,  and  save  himself  by 
this  unfounded  charge. 


18  INTRODUCTION. 

"  And  said  lie  was  going  to  establish  (at  Mont 
gomery)  a  paper,  to  be  called  the  '  Non- Slave 
holder:  " 

"  Angels  and  ministers  of  grace  defend  ns  !" 
Xo  wonder  the  planters  and  the  editors  trembled 
in  their  boots  !  Indeed  !  the  "  poor  white  trash" 
have  an  "  organ  /"  "  Crucify  him !  crucify  him  ! !" 
Why,  that's  as  much  as  to  say  that  all  white  men 
were  born  free  and  equal ! — why,  that's  returning 
to  first  principles  with  a  vengeance ! — why,  that's 
— agrarianism  !  "  Crucify  him  !"  What  use  is 
there  in  Calhoun's  wonderful  and  convenient  dis 
covery  that  the  Declaration  of  Independence  is  a 
lie  and  Thomas  Jefferson  a  humbug,  if  this  young 
ster,  Tharin,  self-educated,  mi-cottoned,  dares  to 
think,  speak,  and  even  write  for  himself  and  his 
fellows  ? 

"  We  are  informed,"  commences  the  Gazette, 
"  by  COL.  ROBEKT  RIVES."  Arid  who  is  COL.  ROB- 
EKT  RIVES  ? 

Col.  Robert  Rives  was  descended  from  the  Hu 
guenots,  of  whom  a  portion,  as  refugees  from  the 
barbarous  decree  of  an  intolerant  Louis  of  France, 
selected  the  banks  of  the  Ashley,  in  South  Car 
olina,  as  the  place  of  their  exile.  Unlike  their 
victim,  no  blood  of  1776  coursed  through  his 
veins  ;  but  he  was  a  convert  to  the  senseless  doc 
trine  of  the  Charleston  Mercury,  that  "  minorities 
should  rule" 

Rives  had  been  mainly  instrumental  in  raising 
the  mob,  voted  against  'postponing  the  publica- 


INTRODUCTION.  19 

tion  of  the  "verdict"  until  the  wife  of  his  victim 
should  be  out  of  danger,  and  declared  that  Mr. 
Tharin  should  not  "  escape,"  if  lie  could  pre 
vent  it. 

In  spite  of  the  vote  of  the  very  mob  which  he 
had  raised,  to  suspend  the  publication  of  their 
"proceedings"  for  four  weeks,  in  order  to  save  the 
life  of  an  unoffending  Southern  lady,  we  find  the 
same  Col.  Robert  Rives  sneaking  to  the  office  of 
the  Cahawba  Gazette,  a  paper  not  mentioned  in 
the  "verdict,"  and,  weeks  before  the  period  desig 
nated  by  the  mob  for  its  publication  elsewhere, 
procuring,  in  the  very  face  of  his  promise  to  abide 
by  the  voice  of  the  meeting,  the  premature,  the 
murderous  advertisement  of  the  very  thing  he  had 
promised  to  postpone ! 

Had  the  voice  of  the  majority  suited  his  "  pecu 
liar"  views,  Rives  would  have  acted  with  them ; 
but,  being  in  a  minority,  he  got  rid  of  all  diffi 
culty  on  the  subject  by  a  very  simple  process — he 
seceded !  i 

For  such  a  miserable  ignoramus  to  secede,  when 
his  contemptible  minority  had  ceased  to  rule^  was 
perfectly  natural.  Thus,  on  an  exceedingly  small 
scale,  he  illustrated  the  "  principles"  of  that  stu 
pendous  crime,  which  set  up  the  despotic  will  of 
a  few  cotton-planters,  and  their  worse  than  Hel 
vetic  clienteles,  against  the  will  of  the  overwhelm 
ing  majority  of  the  American  people,  constitu 
tionally  expressed. 

There  is  something  maddening  in  the  influence 


20  INTRODUCTION. 

of  a  mob  on  a  spirit  uncontrolled  by  love  of  truth. 
All  the  passions  of  the  breast,  inflamed  with  fury, 
then  leap  up,  like  fiends  above  the  lava-waves  of 
hell.  The  eyes  roll  in  liquid  insanity ;  the  heart 
glows  with  the  fires  of  revenge;  the  venom  of 
hydrophobia  is  on  the  tongue ;  and,  intoxicated 
by  the  presence  of  a  concurring  mob,  deeds  of 
dastardly  malignity  become  the  desire  and  the 
fruit,  which  naught  save  the  popularity  of  the  act 
is  quoted  to  extenuate. 

Such  a  being  is  no  longer  a  man  !  he  is  lost  to 
manhood,  and  to  all  the  qualities  which  elevate 
man  above  the  brute  creation.  Saturated  with 
the  poison  of  his  disease,  he  riots  in  images  of 
horror  and  of  blood — a  Moloch  in  a  Pandemonium 
of  cruel  thoughts. 

What  should  be  the  fate  of  such  a  man  ?  What 
would  you  do  to  a  dog,  mad  and  foaming,  which 
rushes  at  the  throat  of  your  son  ? 

This  Republic  owes  it  to  "  the  Alabama  Ref 
ugee,"  and  to  all  her  other  children  who  have 
suffered  like  him,  that  the  murderous  hands  which 
dealt  the  fiendish  blows  be  no  longer  uplifted  for 
destruction.  In  other  words,  the  National  and 
State  Governments  owe  to  Unionists,  everywhere, 
protection. 

"  The  wicked  shall  fall  into  his  own  snare/' 
The  sneaking  behavior  of  Rives  produced  the  op 
posite  effect  from  what  he  designed  :  it  saved  me 
much  inconvenience^  if  not  danger,  by  bringing 
before  the  attention  of  the  people  of  Cincinnati  a 


INTRODUCTION.  21 

perfect  eorroboration  of  tlie  story  I  myself  liacl 
told,  and  that  from  the  most  unexpected,  and, 
therefore,  most  reliable  source — my  very  enemies  ! 
The  charge  of  Abolitionism  -no  sensible  man  be 
lieved,  except  the  Radicals,  from  whom  it  pro 
tected  me. 

The  news  of  the  battle  of  Fort  Sumter,  12th 
April-,  found  Cincinnati  wrought  up  to  a  degree 
of  excitement  unparalleled  in  the  annals  of  that 
city.  A  spontaneous  meeting  of  many  thousands 
collected  one  night  in  front  of  the  steps  of  the 
Post-office,  and  various  gentlemen  addressed  the 
meeting.  Some  one  called  my  name.  The  call 
became  general — universal.  I  rose  and  com 
menced  thus : 

"  Fellow-citizens  of  the  United  States !  I  stand 
before  you  the  representative  of  the  Union  men 
of  the  State  of  Alabama." 

This  was  enough.  One  spontaneous  burst  of 
welcome  rose  upon  the  air.  Hats  were  waved  ; 
men  grasped  each  other  by  the  hand  ;  the  vast 
crowd  rocked  and  shouted  with  an  impulse  which 
showed  how  the  heart  of  Cincinnati  bounded  with 
delight  at  the  reception  of  such  intelligence. 

The  following  letter,  written  by  an  eye-witness 
of  that  scene,  will  convey  the  facts  better  than  I 
could,  or  would : 

"No.  62  FRONT-STREET,  NEW  YORK,  Aug.  11,  1862. 

"  DEAK  SIR  :  Yours  of  late  date  is  received,  and,  but  for  the 
fact  that  I  have  been  slightly  indisposed,  and  a  little  over- 


22  INTRODUCTION". 

worked  in  consequence  of  the  absence  of  my  partner,  B.  C., 
would  have  had  an  earlier  reply. 

"  You  do  right  to  call  me  your  friend  ;  for  since  I  heard  your 
earnest  and  heartfelt  plea  for  the  Union  before  that  immense 
audience  at  the  Post-office  at  Cincinnati,  which  chained  not 
only  me  but  hundreds  to  the  spot  while  you  were  speaking-, 
I  have  not  ceased  to  believe  you  not  only  loyal  and  true,  but 
that  you  deserved  something  at  the  hands  of  Unionists.  Your 
taking  a  private  soldier's  place  to  assist  in  putting  down  the 
Iiebellion,  shows  your  pluck  and  courage.  I  was  glad,  while 
in  Washington,  to  say  a  word  in  your  behalf,  and  only  wish  I 
could  have  done  more.  You  ask  me  to  address  a  letter  to  the 
President  (in  behalf  of  your  appointment  as  Provisional  Gov 
ernor  of  Alabama).  I  regret  I  cannot  render  you  service  in 
that  way,  as  I  do  not  feel  sufficiently  acquainted  with  Mr.  Lin 
coln  ;  and  although  I  am  known  to  some  people  in  Washing 
ton  as  a  Union  man,  I  feel  a  delicacy  in  addressing  a  letter  to 
Mr.  Lincoln,  even  for  my  friend  Tharin. 

"  As  you  are  at  liberty  to  show  this  letter,  to  that  intent  let 
me  here  say,  that  I  believe  you  to  be  a  true  Union  man,  a  real 
patriot,  a  Christian,  and  a  man  of  ability  and  honor. 

"  Yours  truly, 

"  B.  P.  BAKER. 

"  R.  S.  TIIARIN,  ESQ.,  Washington,  D.  C." 

The  following  letter  comes  in  here,  as  a  kind  of 
post  scriptum  to  the  above : 

From  HON.  CALEB  B.  SMITH,  Secretary  of  Interior. 

"  DEPARTMENT  OF  THE  INTERIOR, 

"  Washington,  Aug.  25,  1862. 

"  DEAR  SIR  : — I  am  in  receipt  of  your  letter  of  18th  instant, 
in  reference  to  your  appointment  as  provisional  governor  of  the 
State  of  Alabama. 

"  This  is  a  matter,  of  course,  with  which  my  department  has 
no  official  connection,  and  I  can  only  aid  you  so  far  as  my  rec 
ommendation  mav  do  so. 


INTRODUCTION.  23 

"  I  have  placed  your  letter  before  the  President  with  my 
recommendation  in  favor  of  your  appointment,  and  shall  be 
gratified  to  learn  that  your  application  is  successful. 

"  Yours, 

"  Very  respectfully, 
"CALEB  B.  SMITH, 

"  Secretary. 
"  R.  S.  THARIX,  Esq.". 

I  have  other  recommendations  for  the  same 
place  from  other  sources;  but  will  not  insert  them 
here. 

I  will  here  state,  however,  that  this  application 
was  made  while  Mr.  Lincoln  was  the  unstultified 
author  of  the  Greeley  letter. 

From  the  Sunny  South  I  had  brought  nothing: 
with  me.  About  three  months  after  my  expatri 
ation,  however,  my  wife  and  two  children  arrived 
in  Cincinnati.  She  brought  my  letter-book,  con 
taining,  among  others,  the  following  letter,  in  the 
autograph  of  Yancey : 

"  MONTGOMERY,  ALABAMA,  Oct.  23,  1859. 
"  DEAR  SIR  : — I  am  in  receipt  of  yours  of  the  20th  instant. 
My  business  in  Coosa  county  is  not  large.  In  fact  I  have 
not  cultivated  it,  having,  for  several  years,  been  expecting 
to  abandon  it,  to  practice  in  one  of  the  wealthier  counties 
"below  this.  If  a  legal  connection  can  benefit  you  in  Coosa,  I 
am  willing  to  form  one  with  you,  confined  to  that  county. 
You  to  receive  one-third  and  I  two-thirds  of  all  receipts.  If 
this  is  agreeable  to  you,  you  may  consider  it  as  formed,  com 
mencing  from  1st  November  next. 

"  Yours,  truly. 

"  W.  L.  YAXCEY. 
"  R.  S.  TIFARTX,  Esq." 


2i  INTRODUCTIOX. 

Mr.  William  L.  Yancey  and  his  Coosa  county 
partner  did  not  get  on  very  well  together,  it  seems, 
for  the  following  is  an  extract  from  another  let 
ter  from  the  former.  I  have  "both  letters  entire  in 
my  possession : 

"  MONTGOMERY,  ALABAMA,  Dec.  17, 1859. 
******  Be  so  good,  therefore,  if  you"  have  advertised 
our  connection,  to  advertise  its  dissolution.     *  *  *  *  *  *  " 

I  am  glad  to  have  it  in  rny  power,  not  only  to 
prove  the  fact  of  the  partnership,  which  the  Cin 
cinnati  Enquirer  was  base  enough  to  deny  in  be 
half  of  its  friend  Yancey,  but  also  to  show  that  I 
did  not  long  affiliate,  even  in  business,  with  such 
a  man  as  Yancey. 

But  Mr.  Yancey  is  estopped  from  ever  saying  a 
word  against  me,  even  in  the  South,  by  a  "  P.  S." 
to  the  notice  of  dissolution,  in  which  he  "  recom 
mended  his  late  law-partner  to  the  confidence  of 
the  public,  of  which  he  was  every  way  worthy." 
This  appeared  in  the  Hayneville  (Lowndes  county) 
Chronicle,  for  the'space  of  a  year. 

The  impossibility  of  supporting  my  family  in 
the  Queen  city  of  the  West,  on  account  of  the 
universal  prostration  of  business,  caused  me  to 
seek  my  fortunes  in  Richmond,  Indiana.  My 
friend,  James  Reeves,  wrote  me  from  that  city 
that  the  opening  for  a  lawyer  was  good,  and  I 
availed  myself  of  the  prospect.  Before  leaving 
Cincinnati,  I  deemed  it  advisable  to  secure  the 
following  letters,  which  are  laid  before  the  reader, 


IK  TEODUCTION .  2  5 

• — in  the  spirit  in  which  this  whole  chapter  is  writ 
ten, — in  order  to  prepare  his  mind  for  succeeding 
chapters,  by  placing  my  word,  my  character,  and 
my  experience  beyond  the  possibility  of  a  reason 
able  doubt : 

Letter  from  HON.  MILTON  SAYLER. 

"CINCINNATI,  OHIO,  June  3,  1801. 

"  It  gives  me  very  great  pleasure  to  state  that  I  met  the 
bearer,  Robert  S.  Tharin,  Esq.,  in  the  annual  convention  of  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Associations  of  the  United  States  and 
British  America,  held  in  the  city  of  Richmond,  Va.,  in  May, 
1857,  to  which  convention  Mr.  Tharin  was  one  of  three  dele 
gates  from  Charleston,  S.  C.  Mr.  Tharin  occupied  a  worthy 
position  in  that  convention,  and,  though  my  acquaintance 
with  him  since  has  been  slight,  yet  I  do  not  hesitate,  from 
my  knowledge  of  him,  to  commend  him  to  those  among  -vhom 
he  may  go,  as  a  gentleman  in  every  respect  worthy  of  their 
good-will  and  confidence. 

"  MILTON  SAYLEK." 

Letter  from  SAMUEL  LOWRY,  Escj. 

"CINCINNATI,  June  4,  1801. 

"I  met  the  bearer,  Mr.  R,  S.  Tharin,  at  a  convention  of 
delegates  from  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Associations  of 
the  United  States,  held  at  Richmond,  Va.,  May,  1857.  He 
was  one  of  three  representatives  from  the  association  of 
Charleston,  S.  C.,  had  the  confidence  of  his  colleagues,  and, 
by  his  deportment,  made  a  favorable  impression  on  the  mem 
bers  of  the  convention  and  the  citizens  of  Richmond. 

"  SAMUEL  LOWRY." 

Letter  from  JUDGE  J.  B.  STALLO. 

"Mr.  R.  S.  Tharin,  a  former  law-partner  of  Mr.  Yancey, 
has  been  driven  from  the  State  of  Alabama  on  account  of 
his  anti-secession  sentiments,  and  since  his  expatriation  has 

a  > 


26  INTRODUCTION. 

spent  some  months  in  the  city  of  Cincinnati.  During  his 
stay  here  it  has  been  my  pleasure  to  meet  him  occasionally, 
and  I  cheerfully  testify  that  he  is  a  gentleman  of  culture  and 
of  unexceptionable  habits,  and  that  he  has  won  the  confidence 
and  respect  of  all  who  had  the  good  fortune  to  make  his  ac 
quaintance. 

"  J.  B.  STALLO." 

P.  S.  l}y  REV.  E.  G.  ROBINSON. 

"  I  cheerfully  and  heartily  concur  in  Judge  Stallo's  com 
mendation  of  Mr.  Tharin. 

"  E.  G.  ROBINSON, 
'  Pastor  9t7i-street  Baptist  ChurcJi,  Cincinnati.'" 

A  Pleasant  Reminiscence. 

"  RESPECTED  SIR  :  By  the  consent,  not  only  of  the  teachers 
and  of  the  committee,  but  by  the  request  of  the  pupils  of  the 
Hughes  High  School  in  general,  it  was  unanimously  agreed 
to  tender  our  heartfelt  thanks  to  you  for  the  eloquent  and 
patriotic  oration  which  you  delivered  at  the  unfurling  of  the 
Stars  and  Stripes  from  the  summit  of  our  school. 

"  With  respect, 

"  J.  L.  THORNTON, 
"J.  M.  EDWARDS, 
"  J.  T.  POMPILLY, 
"  AMELIA  S.  WRIGHT, 
"  MRS.  H.  B.  COONS, 
"ELLEN  FREEMAN, 
"  SIDNEY  OMOHONDRO,  ; 
"  JOSEPH  S.  PEEBLES, 


"CINCINNATI,  OHIO,  April  25, 1861. 

"  LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN  :  I  deem  it  no  more  than  proper 
to  acknowledge,  in  writing,  the  receipt  of  your  highly  appre 
ciated  favor  of  the  24th  instant. 

"  Your  letter  of  thanks,  now  before  me,  will  ever  be  classed 


INTRODUCTION.  27 

among  my  most  cherished  mementoes  ;  and  the  kindness  which 
dictated  it  will  always  retain  my  affectionate  and  respectful 
gratitude. 

"  In  contemplating  the  many  evidences  of  Cincinnati's  Chris 
tian  hospitality  toward  myself,  I  can  almost  bless  the  trials 
which  drove  me  to  find  a  home  amid  a  community  so  sympa 
thetic  and  so  loyal. 

"May  our  beloved  national  banner  in  triumph  still  Avave 
over  our  city  and  your  school ! 

"  I  liaA*e  the  honor,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  to  subscribe  my 
self,  with  high  regard, 

"  Your  obedient  serA*ant, 

"  R.  S.  THABIN. 

"  To  the  Teachers  and  Committee 

of  the  Hughes  High  School." 

With  my  wife  and  children,  now  trebly  dear  to 
the  heart  which  had  lost  all  other  associates  save 
them,  I  took  up  the  line  of  my  wanderings  west 
ward.  I  bore  with  me  the  consciousness  of  sin 
cerity,  and  desired  nothing  so  much  as  repose.  I 
longed  for  some  spot  of  earth  where  I  might  sup 
port  and  educate  my  family,  and  heal  my  bleed 
ing  wounds  with  the  balm  of  quiet  and  study. 
Richmond,  Indiana,  generally  known  as  the  Qua 
ker  City,  seemed  to  invite  me  to  seek  needed 
tranquillity  beneath  her  maples.  Alas  !  how  lit 
tle  tranquillity  I  found  there  is  known  to  my 
numerous  friends  in  the  State  of  Indiana. 

When  I  look  back  upon  that  period,  my  soul 
sickens  at  the  contemplation.  Called  from  my 
retirement  by  the  voice  of  the  people,  at  their 
frequent  meetings  I  would  express  my  views  upon 
the  crisis  without  reserve.  My  popularity  became 


28  -INTRODUCTION. 

greater  than  I   desired,    and   offensive   to    those 
whose  only  earthly  desire  is  popularity. 

At  length  I  proposed  to  the  citizens  the  forma 
tion  of  a  "  Union  .Eights  Club,"  at  a  meeting  ap 
pointed  for  the  purpose. 

The  next  Saturday  there  appeared  in  the  "Broad- 
axe  of  Freedom,"  which  is  as  much  a  Union  paper 
as  Jeff.  Davis  is  a  saint,  a  ridiculous  and  menda 
cious  criticism  of  my  effort  on  the  night  alluded 
to.  I  replied,  and  the  editor  acknowledged  (in 
advertently)  that  he  lied.  The  next  issue  of  the 
Richmond  Palladium  showed  the  admission  of 
the  Broadaxe  of  its  own  falsity,  and  derided  the 
position  of  the  editor,  who  had  charged  me  with 
being  the  author  of  a  piece  in  the  Palladium  (of 
the  very  existence  of  which  I  was  utterly  ignorant) 
charging  the  Broadaxe  with  Secession  proclivi 
ties. 

The  editor  of  the  Broadaxe  now  perpetrated  an 
act  of  which  any  gentleman  would  be  ashamed. 
Instead  of  acknowledging  himself  in  the  wrong, 
and  retiring  gracefully  from  a  controversy,  to  wage 
which  decently  he  showed  himself  incompetent, 
he  seized  upon  the  weakest  and  most  vulnerable 
point  in  my  fortress. 

This  was  rny  Southern  origin,  my  former  law- 
partnership  with  Yancey,  and  my  omission  to  vol 
unteer  ! 

Pantalooned  old  women  reside  in  every  com 
munity.  Give  them  the  slightest  pabulum  for 
gossip,  and  at  it  they  go,  as  if  it  was  indispensable 


INTRODUCTION.  29 

to  their  own  happiness  to  prove  every  wild  sur 
mise  of  every  hair-brained  babbler  to  be  true. 

The  suggestion  of  the  JBroadaxe  did  its  dirty 
work.  At  the  expense  of  every  principle  of  honor, 
the  editor  of  the  Broadaxe  (U.  S.  Hammond)  was 
victorious.  The  record  of  that  controversy  proves 
that  he  admitted  that  he  lied!  What  of  that? 
lie  was  victorious ! !  At  least  he,  poor  fool,  so 
thought,  and,  doubtless,  so  thinks  to  day. 

Driven  to  the  wall  by  the  most  unmistakable 
signs  of  mobocraey,  which,  alas  !  I  had  learned  to 
detect,  I  involuntarily  volunteered,  inviting  him  to 
accompany  me,  which  he  disgracefully  declined. 

But  why  should  /,  who  suffered  so  much  from 
Secession,  be  driven  to  volunteer?  Why  was  I 
not  already  in  the  armies  of  the  Union  ? 

I  had  a  wife,  whom  I  had  promised,  when  she 
came,  a  picture  of  despair,  to  Cincinnati  with  our 
two  small  children,  that  I  would  never  leave  her 
without  her  consent. 

For  me,  she  had  left  every  relative  she  had  on 
earth,  the  sacred  dust  of  her  dead,  the  scenes  and 
companions  of  her  childhood,  her  brothers  im 
pressed  into  the  armies  of  "King  Cotton." 

Delicate  in  health,  shattered  in  constitution,  yet 
heroic  and  devoted,  this  young  Southern  lady,  un 
accustomed  to  hardship, — her  mother's  favorite, 
most  indulged  daughter, — was,  even  then,  almost 
heartbroken  at  the  thought  of  never  seeinir  a«:aiii 

O  o        o 

her  friends  in  the  South. 

She  was  a  stranger  in  a  strange  land.      She  had 


30  INTRODUCTION. 

no  old  associations  in  Richmond,  Indiana ;  she 
was  chilled  by  the  hard,  cold,  icy  manners  of  the 
ladies  of  Richmond,  so  different  from  the  caress 
ing  kindness  of  Alabama's  fair  daughters ;  her 
little  boy  was  an  invalid;  her  strength  was  re 
duced,  by  our  unparalleled  sufferings,  to  the  verge 
of  prostration. 

Did  she  not  need  her  husband's  presence  ?  Did 
she  not  need  his  guardian  care?  No  mother,  no 
friends,  no  society, — the  wife  of  an  exile,  a  volun 
tary  exile  at  his  side, — she  did  need  his  whole  and 
most  devoted  society  ;  and  it  was  for  the  purpose 
of  recuperating  her  energies,  of  restoring  her 
health,  and  of  earning  a  support  for  her  and  her 
children,  that  I  had  gone  to  Richmond. 

When  she  saw  the  printed  demand  for  the  sac 
rifice,  she  threw  her  arms  around  my  neck,  and, 
in  a  voice  broken  by  sobs,  said  that  she  would 
withhold  her  consent  no  longer. 

Had  she  not  granted  her  consent,  I  would  have 
rotted  in  Fort  Lafayette ;  I  would  have  suffered 
myself  to  be  torn  into  atoms  by  a  Northern  mob, 
headed  by  an  editorial  empiric,  before  I  would 
have  broken  my  word  to  her.  This  she  knew,  and 
she  consented. 

Many  a  regiment  would  have  received  me 
among  its  field-officers,  had  I  agreed  to  recruit  for 
it.  But  my  preference  fell  on  the  57th  Regiment 
Indiana  Volunteers,  the  Colonel  of  which  was  a 
native  of  Virginia,  a  preacher  of  the  Gospel,  and 
my  professed  friend  ! 


INTRODUCTION.  31 

When  I  first  went  to  Richmond,  I  had  been 
introduced  to  this  man  by  my  true  friend  James 
Reeves.  He,  the  former,  had  introduced  me  to  the 
first  audience  (at  Star  Hall)  I  ever  addressed  in  that 
city.  Elated  at  my  success,  he  "  stuck  closer  than 
a  brother"  to  my  growing  fortunes,  was  almost 
every  day  in  my  law-office,  called  at  my  house 
and  took  me  to  walk  almost  every  Sunday.  lie 
would  even  point  me  out  in  church  as  a  perse 
cuted  patriot. 

What  a  wonderful  instinct  has  woman !  My 
wife  said  to  me,  one  day,  that  she  distrusted  the 
sincerity  of  this  clerical  gentleman. 

I  told  her  that  her  fears  were  utterly  ground 
less  ;  and  that  if  the  preacher  proved  false,  I  would 
doubt  the  sincerity  of  all  men. 

It  is  universally  known  in  Richmond  that  the 
colonel  and  lieutenant-colonel  of  the  57th  Regi 
ment  both  promised  me  that  I  should  not  have 
to  go  as  a  private,  on  account  of  my  family.  The 
first  promised  me  a  field-office  anyhow,  and  the 
other  promised  me  to  use  his  efforts  to  obtain 
for  me  a  lieutenancy,  in  order  that  I  might  be 
appointed  adjutant  by  the  former,  if  I  should  de 
sire  it. 

The  lieutenant-colonel  handed  me  a  recruiting 

o 

permit  at  the  People's  Bank,  authorizing  me  to 
recruit  a  company. 

I  commenced  to  address  the  people  of  the  Fifth 
Congressional  District.  The  main  feature  of  my 
speeches  was  simply  "  Union:"  I  denounced  JEny- 


32  INTRODUCTION. 

land  as  the  fomenter  of  our  dismemberment,  and 
prophecied  difficulties  with  that  power  on  the  oc 
currence  of  the  first  pretext.  This  was  before  the 
"  Trent  affair."  I  always  had  overflowing  audi 
ences,  and  the  good  results  of  my  efforts  were 
soon  discernible  in  the  communities  I  visited. 

The  success  of  my  undertaking  was  doubtful, 
however.  The  emissaries  of  the  JBroadaxe  fol 
lowed  me  like  my  shadow.  In  private  they  cir 
culated  the  hellish  invention  that  I  was  a  "  South 
ern  spy."  I  began  to  realize  the  fact  that  those 
who  had  first  attacked  me  were  organized  for  my 
destruction.  Probably  they  felt  that  as  they  dared 
not  "go  to  war"  to  light  Secessionists,  the  next 
best  thing  they  could  do  would  be  to  destroy  the 
family  and  prospects  of  loyal  refugees  from  Rebel- 
dom  !  The  regiment  itself  became  changed  to 
ward  me.  By  a  few  judicious  puffs,  the  Broad- 
axe  had  completely  bought  up  its  vain  colonel, 
who  began  to  turn  away  at  my  approach.  Poor 
man !  he  had  promised  so  many  people  the  same 
thing,  that  his  rapidly-increasing  regiment  was 
in  danger  of  having  more  officers  than  privates. 
Some  must  be  thrown  overboard  !  /was,  of  course, 
a  selected  victim  ! 

The  regiment  attained  the  minimum  number ; 
but,  although  I  had  labored  for  that  regiment 
with  indefatigable  industry  (for  I  desired  the  pay 
of  an  officer  for  iny  family  made  destitute  by 
exile),  I  was,  by  the  blackest  ingratitude,  con 
signed  to  its  ranks. 


INTRODUCTION.  33 

The  following,  from  the  Palladium  of  Dec.  14, 
1861,  expresses  the  public  feeling  of  the  conserva 
tives*  of  Richmond  : 

"  Our  friend  Tharin,  failing  to  raise  a  company,  mainly 
through  the  slanders  propagated  and  started  by  the  Broadaxe 
in  regard  to  him,  volunteered  as  a  private  soldier  in  the  ranks 
and  shouldered  his  musket, — thus  showing  his  faith  in  our 
glorious  institutions  by  his  works,  and  giving  the  lie  to  the 
foul  insinuations  against  him  by  his  persecutor  Ham'an.  The 
57th  has  no  braver  man  belonging  to  it  than  E.  S.  Tharin  ;  and 
we  predict  that,  should  the  opportunity  occur,  he  will  win  his 
way  by  deeds  of  valor  to  promotion,  which  he  already  so  richly 
deserves  for  his  exertions  in  recruiting  for  this  regiment." 

From  the  TRUE  REPUBLICAN  (Radical)  of  December  19,  1861, 
published  at  Centre-mile,  Indiana. 

"  R.  S.  Tharin,  Esq.,  the  Alabama  refugee,  whose  name  has 
been  so  much  associated  with  that  of  the  traitor  Yancey,  entered 
McMullen's  regiment  as  a  private.  Mr.  T.  has  resided  for 
several  months  at  Richmond.  Failing  in  an  effort  to  raise  a 
company,  he  has  gone  into  the  ranks.  He  deserves  great 
credit  for  his  patriotism." 

While  encamped  at  Indianapolis  I  had  an  in 
terview  with  the  reverend  colonel,  and  demanded 
that  he  keep  his  word,  which,  it  will  be  remem 
bered,  was  that  I  should  not  have  to  go  as  a  pri 
vate  in  his  regiment. 

After  much  exciting  argument,  I  forced  from 
him  an  acknowledgment  of  his  promise,  and  the 
next  day  received  a  discharge.  By-the-by,  he 
himself  never  went  with  his  regiment. 

The  following  letters  explain  themselves  : 


*  Unionists  alone  are  entitled  to  this  epithet. 


INTRODUCTION. 

From  JUDGE  JAMES  PERRY  to  the  Colonel  of  the  Sixteenth 
Regiment,  I.  V.  M.,  then  stationed  at  Camp  Hicks,  Md. 

"  COL.  P.  A.  HACKLED  AN  :* — I  beg  leave  to  introduce  to  your 
acquaintance,  Robert  S.  Tharin,  Esq.,  a  member  of  the  bar,  a 
gentleman  of  very  fair  literary  and  scientific  attainments,  a 
native  of  the  South,  an  emigrant  from  that  land  of  terror  and 
distress,  and  loyal  to  the  banner  of  the  Union.  Mr.  Tliarin 
has  rendered  valuable  services  in  filling  up  Col.  McMullen's 
regiment ;  but,  not  being  very  well  satisfied  with  the  officers 
of  that  regiment,  he  has  by  them  been  permitted  to  choose 
another,  and  has  made  choice  of  your  regiment,  into  which  he 
enters  as  a  private  soldier.  Two  motives  have  directed  him 
to  the  choice  of  your  regiment :  first,  the  term  of  service  is 
shorter,  and  he  leaves  a  family  far  from  any  relatives,  in  a 
strange  land  ;  secondly,  if  the  country  should  need  his  ser* 
vices,  after  the  expiration  of  the  time  of  enlistment  of  your 
regiment,  he  intends  to  strive  for  a  better  position  than  that 
of  a  private  in  the  service.  In  his  behalf,  I  ask  for  such  kind 
ness  as  you  have  in  your  power  to  bestow. 

"  I  am,  very  sincerely,  yours,  etc., 

"  JAMES  PERRY." 

From  BENJ.  W.  DAVIS,  Junior  Editor  of  the  "Richmond  (Ind.) 
Palladium." 

"  RICHMOND,  Jan.  12,  1862. 

"  DEAR  SIR  : — Permit  me,  although  personally  a  stranger  to 
you,  but  oth&ricise  intimately  acquainted  with  you,  to  introduce 
R.  S.  Tliarin,  formerly  of  Alabama,  but  now  of  this  city,  who 
was  driven  from  that  State  in  consequence  of  his  devotion  to 
the  old  flag,  and  who  is  now  a  private,  a  new  recruit,  in  your 
regiment.  It  is  rumored  here  that  my  friend  ORAN  PERRY  is 
about  to  be  promoted  to  another  regiment  in  the  three  years' 
service,  which  he  well  deserves  for  his  sterling  good  qualities  ; 
and  could  the  appointment  of  sergeant-major,  which  he  now 
holds,  and  which  place  would  be  vacant  by  his  transfer,  be 
conferred  on  my  friend  R.  S.  Tliarin,  either  that  post,  or  the 


*  Now  General. 


INTRODUCTION.  o-> 

adjutancy, — which,  I  learn,  will  be  vacated  tor  a  similar  reason, 
— would  be  filled  by  him  with  equal  satisfaction  to  yourself 
and  regiment  as  now,  and  it  would  be  rendering  a  deserved 
honor  to  one  who  is  every  way  worthy  and  well  qualified,  be 
side  being  appreciated  by  the  numerous  friends  he  has  made 
since  sojourning  in  our  little  Quaker  city. 
"  Yours  truly, 

"  BENJ.  W.  DAVIS, 
"  Jun.  Ed.  R.  Palladium. 
"  COL.  P.  A.  HACKLEMAN." 

Let  me  liere  mention  that  the  officers  and  mem 
bers  of  the  Sixteenth  Indiana  are  deserving  of  their 
great  popularity  and  reputation.  It  was  in  the 
tent  of  the  chaplain  of  the  Sixteenth,  Rev.  Ed 
ward  Jones,  that  I  wrote  the  personal  narrative 
which,  follows.  To  the  gallant  and  distinguished 
Col.  Hackleman,  I  owe  a  brother's  love.  I  have 
just  learned  that  in  the  late  battle  of  Corinth, 
while  leading  on  his  brigade  in  the  most  gallant 
and  heroic  manner,  the  Stars  and  Stripes  waving 
triumphantly  above  his  head,  his  gleaming  sword 
encouraging  his  men,  his  noble  countenance  ani 
mated  with  a  halo  of  patriotic  zeal,  with  the  word 
"Forward"  upon  his  lips,  he  fell  into  the  arms  of 
victory,  leaving  no  stain  on  his  escutcheon,  and 
for  his  children  a  heritage  of  glory. 

The  following,  from  the  Maryland  Union  (Fred 
erick),  is  the  next  link  in  the  chain  of  the  refugee's 
steps : 

"MR.  THARIN'S  LECTURE. 

"  FREDERICK,  February  10,  1862. 

"  DEAR  SIR  : — Understanding,  from  undoubted  authority, 
that  in  our  very  midst  is  a  gentleman,  a  former  law-partner  of 


JO  INTRODUCTION. 

William  L.  Yancey,  who  lias  experienced  in  Ms  own  person 
the  extreme  of  Secession  cruelty,  and  whose  love  for  the  Union 
of  his  forefathers  has  been  the  cause  of  a  martyrdom  which 
history  will  record  as  the  most  remarkable  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  we  take  the  liberty  of  requesting,  in  behalf  of  the 
patriotic  people  of  Frederick,  that  you  will  gratify  us  by  ap 
pointing  an  evening  on  which  to  give  a  narrative  of  adventures 
in  Alabama,  with  such  remarks  in  application  as  you  may  see 
lit  to  deliver. 

"  We  feel  warranted  in  the  assurance  that  the  theme  will 
attract  an  audience  second  to  none  which  Frederick  has  pro 
duced,  and  hope  you  will  feel  no  backwardness  in  accepting  an 
invitation  which  is  made  in  good  faith. 

"  In  any  event,  be  assured  of  the  sympathy  and  apprecia 
tion  of  "  Respectfully, 

"  Your  fellow-citizens, 
"  WM.  G.  COLE 
"  D.  J.  MARKET, 
"  CHARLES  COLE, 
"  W.  MAIIONET, 
"  M.  NELSON. 
"  R.  S.  THARIN,  Esq. 

"  P.  S.  With  our  compliments,  will  you  please  invite  the 
field-officers  of  your  regiment  (Sixteenth  Indiana,  we  believe) 
to  be  present  on  the  occasion  T 

"  CAMP  HICKS,  February  11,  1862. 

"  FELLOW-CITIZENS  : — Your  nattering  and  highly-apprecia 
ted  favor,  of  yesterday's  date,  containing  an  invitation  to 
deliver  a  lecture  on  the  subject  of  my  adventures  and  suffer 
ings  in  behalf  of  the  Union,  is  just  received. 

"  I  hold  myself  ever  ready  to  address  my  fellow-citizens  of 
this  endangered  nation  upon  the  great  events  which  have 
swept  over  the  Cotton  States  like  a  conflagration,  consuming 
as  stubble  the  once  sacred  rights  of  American  citizens,  and 
threatening  to  wrap  in  inextinguishable  flames  the  temple  of 
Liberty.  My  duty  and  my  inclination  alike  impel  me  to  ex 
pose  the  horrors  of  that  Reign  of  Terror  which  aims  at  the 


INTRODUCTION.  37 

destruction  of  republican  institutions  and  the  subversion  of 
free  speech  and  free  conscience.  My  own  eventful  and  disas 
trous  experience  is  the  property  of  the  public,  who  have  a 
right  to  know  just  what  '  Secession'  means. 

"  Secession  aims  at  the  heart  of  loyalty,  whether  it  pulsates 
in  Northern  or  Southern  breasts.  Myself  a  native  of  Charles 
ton,  S.  C.,  an  adopted  citizen  of  Alabama,  my  wife  and  children 
natives  of  the  latter  State,  my  rights  were  trampled  upon  the 
moment  I  declared  my  intention  to  respect  the  obligation  of 
my  oath  to  support  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  and 
the  Constitution  of  Alabama.  Mobbed,  scourged,  and  exiled, 
I  now  wander  amid  a  people  far  from  the  scenes  of  my  child 
hood,  but  not  without  a  feeling  of  gratitude  to  that  kind  Provi 
dence  who  has  delivered  me  from  King  Cotton,  and  at  the 
same  time  afforded  me  the  opportunity  of  bearing  arms  in  de 
fense  of  the  flag  which  waved  over  my  ancestral  antecedents, 
which  shadowed  my  cradle  with  a  blessing,  and  which  will 
receive  my  corpse  when  expiring. 

"  I  am  happy,  therefore,  to  respond  to  your  kind  communica 
tion  in  the  affirmative. 

"  If  agreeable  to  you,  I  will  appoint  Saturday  evening,  the 
22d  instant,  as  the  time  of  my  lecture — leaving  the  arrange 
ment  of  place  and  hour,  etc.,  to  your  kind  supervision. 

"  I  have  the  honor,  gentlemen,  to  remain,  with  highest  con 
sideration,  "  Your  fellow-citizen  and  servant, 

"  R.  S.  THARIN, 

"Private,  16th  Regt.  Indiana  Vol. 
"  MR.  W.  G.  COLE  and  others. 

"  P.  S.  The  field-officers  of  the  Sixteenth  Indiana  will  be 
present,  if  public  duties  conflict  not  with  their  inclinations." 

From  tlie  MARYLAND  UNION. 

"  AN  INTERESTING  LECTURE. — It  will  be  seen  from  the  cor 
respondence  in  to-day's  paper,  that  R.  S.  Tharin,  Esq.,  former 
law-partner  of  Win.  L.  Yancey,  and  at  present  attached  to  the 
Sixteenth  Regiment  Indiana  Volunteers,  a  gentleman  of  the 
highest  respectability,  of  fine  accomplishments,  endowed  with 
rare  talents,  and  an  eloquent  speaker,  will  deliver  a  lecture  in 
4 


38  IXTKODUCTION. 

tliis  city  on  Saturday  evening,  the  22d  instant.  Due  notice  of 
the  hour  and  place  of  meeting  will  be  given,  and  we  hope 
there  will  be  a  general  outpouring  on  the  part  of  our  citizens 
to  hear  him,  as  we  feel  assured  that  the  lecture  will  be  un 
usually  interesting,  and  delivered  in  the  finest  style." 

One  of  the  aids  to  Gen.  Banks  about  this  time 
detailed  me  from  my  regiment  to  write  for  him 
at  headquarters,  where  I  remained  until  some  time 
after  the  battle  of  Winchester. 

The  lecture  was  never  delivered.  The  division 
of  Gen.  Banks  was  ordered  to  march  into  Vir 
ginia.  I  went  with  my  regiment,  of  course. 
The  following  certificate  will  explain  what  I  was 
about  in  Virginia : 

Certificate  from  CAPT.  M.  C.  WELSH,  I.  V.  M. 

"  WOODSTOCK,  VA.,  April  2, 1862. 

"  I  take  pleasure  in  stating  that  R.  S.  Tharin,  Esq.,  of  the 
16th  Indiana,  although  exempt  from  such  duty  at  the  time,  as 
clerk  on  Gen.  Banks'  staff,  to  my  certain  knowledge  borrowed 
a  gun  and  accouterments  from  one  of  my  men  (Evans  Arm 
strong),  and  did  his  devoir  at  the  great  battle  of  Winchester, 
on  Sunday,  23d  March,  1862. 

"  M.  C.  WELSH, 
"  Capt.  of  Comp.  D,  1th  Lid.  Vols" 

Having  finished  my  duties  at  headquarters,  I 
was  proceeding,  via  Washington,  to  rejoin  my 
regiment,  when  I  was  detained  in  this  city  (Wash 
ington)  by  the  reception  of  a  small  office  in  the 
Treasury  Department.  My  regiment's  term  of  ser 
vice  in  a  few  days  afterward  expired.  I  received  my 
discharge  and  my  pay,  and  proceeded  to  Indiana 


INTRODUCTION.  39 

for  my  family,   who   are  now,  tliank  God,  once 
more  with  their  natural  protector. 

I  will  conclude  this  introductory  chapter  with 
a  letter  to  the  London  Daily  Ntwz,  to  a  careful 
perusal  of  which  the  reader  is  invited,  as  it  proves 
the  pro-slave-trade  proclivities  of  William  L.  Yan- 
cey,  then  commissioner  in  London  of  the  Confede 
rate  States,  so  called.  It  appeared  in  the  columns 
(4rth  and  5th)  of  the  London  Daily  Ntws  of  Xo- 
vember  27,  1861  (page  2). 

"YANCEY  AND  THE  SLAVE-TRADE. 

CONNER SVILLE,  INDIANA,  October,  1861. 
"  To  the  Editor  of  the  'Daily  New*: 

"  SIR  :  In  a  recent  issue  of  the  Times  I  see  a  letter  from 
'  Hon.'  William  L.  Yancey,  one  of  the  commissioners  of  the 
pasteboard  '  Confederacy/  of  which  he  is  chief  architect,  in 
which  epistle  he  attempts  to  show  that,  in  the  Southern 
Commercial  Convention  at  Montgomery,  State  of  Alabama,  in 
May,  1858,  he  was  not  in  favor  of  the  renewal  of  the  African 
slave-trade. 

"  To  that  Convention — which  has  identified  itself  with  the 
most  obnoxious  measures  ever  resorted  to  for  the  violation  of 
the  time-honored  principles  and  reciprocal  stipulations  of  both 
Great  Britain  and  America — it  was  my  good,  or  bad,  fortune 
to  be  a  delegate. 

"  Interested  as,  in  spite  of  my  indignation,  I  felt  myself  in 
the  great  debate,  that  for  five  consecutive  days  occupied  the 
exclusive  attention  of  the  body,  I  followed  up  the  argument  in 
all  its  sickening  details,  watched  every  parliamentary  and  un 
parliamentary  shift  to  keep  it  exclusively  before  the  conven 
tion,  and,  although,  disgusted  by  the  sophistries  used  by  all 
the  parties  to  the  discussion,  watched  its  inception,  progress, 
and  conclusion  as  I  would  have  watched  a  gathering  avalanche 
upon  a  mountain-top. 


40  INTRODUCTION. 

"  The  eloquent  champion  of  the  slave-trade  on  that  memo 
rable  occasion  was  William  L.  Yancey !  In  fluent  periods  he 
poured  out  the  cataract  of  his  oratory  in  favor  of  a  measure 
which,  if  successful,  could  prove  no  less  than  the  revival  of 
the  accursed  traffic  in  human  flesh. 

"  Leonidas  Spratt,  of  South  Carolina,  whose  whole  notoriety 
and  Southern  popularity  are  derived  from  his  slave-trade  mon 
omania,  and  who  has  since  published  in  Mr.  Yancey's  '  organ/ 
the  Montgomery  Advertiser,  his  prediction  of  '  anpther  revolu 
tion/  on  account  of  the  temporary  prohibition  (by  the  Provi 
sional  Congress)  of  his  darling  measure,  had,  at  the  previous 
session  of  the  Southern  Commercial  Convention  (1857),  intro 
duced  a  resolution  expressly  demanding  its  revival.  Of  a 
committee  appointed  to  report,  at  the  next  session,  '  on  the 
advisability  of  reopening  the  African  slave-trade/  Mr.  Spratt, 
by  virtue  of  his  motion,  was  constituted  chairman,  and  Mr. 
Yancey  enjoyed  the  honor  of  being  named  second  on  that 
humane  committee. 

"  The  year's  recess  having  expired,  we  find,  at  Montgomery, 
in  1858,  Yancey,  Spratt,  and  the  '  Southern  Commercial  Con 
vention.'  Mr.  Spratt  introduced  a  long,  elaborate,  and  in 
comprehensible  report,  abounding  in  scientific  terms,  and 
propounding  a  new  governmental  and  social  theory,  which 
to  nine-tenths  of  the  assembly  was  like  the  handwriting  on 
the  wall,  in  need  of  an  interpreter.  When,  to  the  great  relief 
of  the  unscientific  ear  of  the  '  Southern  Commercial  Conven 
tion/  Mr.  Spratt  had  concluded  his  long-spun  production,  Mr. 
Yancey  arose  and  said,  substantially,  that 

"  '  Although  he  agreed  with  every  word  of  his  amiable  and 
patriotic  friend,  Mr.  Spratt,  still  he  considered  the  magnificent 
report  of  that  gentleman  too  unwieldy  for  parliamentary  pur 
poses,  and  that,  therefore,  as  a  minority  report,  which  he 
would  move  as  a  substitute  to  the  original,  he  would  offer  the 
following  resolution : 

"  '  Resolved,  That  the  Federal  laws  repealing  the  African 
slave-trade  ought  to  be  repealed.' 

"  Mr.  Yancey  was  too  good  a  lawyer  to  be  ignorant  of  the 
full  force  and  meaning  of  the  legal  term  'repealed/  which  was 
enunciated  with  significant  and  sonorous  emphasis.  Whether, 


INTRODUCTION.  4:1 

at  its  inception,  the  slave-trade  was  customary  or  statutory, 
the  ''  repeal'  of  the  '  statute'  prohibiting  its  continuance  is 
susceptible  of  but  one  meaning,  and  that — its  resumption. 
In  effect,  Mr.  Yancey's  resolution,  without  the  least  change  in 
its  meaning,  might  have  been  worded : 

"  'Resolved,  That  the  African  slave-trade  ought  to  be  re 
vived.' 

"  In  fact,  the  debate  which  ensued  on  the  introduction  of 
the  Yancey  substitute,  ajid  which  consumed  about  five  days, 
to  the  exclusion  of  all  other  matter,  was  conducted  altogether 
upon  the  supposition  that  the  resolution  contemplated  the  re 
vival  of  the  trade.  With  this  universal  opinion  the  conven 
tion  listened  to  the  arguments  pro  and  con.  Upon  the  square 
issue  of  renewal,  or  non-renewal,  each  debater  took  his  ground. 
The  most  prominent  of  these  were  Roger  A.'Pryor,  editor  of 
the  Richmond  South,  published  in  Virginia,  and  William  L. 
Yancey,  of  Alabama. 

"  Mr.  Pry  or  opposed  Mr.  Yancey  on  several  grounds,  one  of 
which  I  remember  to  have  been  that  the  '  minimum  of  labor 
produces  the  maximum  of  value/  which  Mr.  Yancey  com 
bated  with  great  enthusiasm.  He  showed  that  the  '  minimum 
of  labor'  would  benefit  Virginia,  who  raises  the  laborers,  but 
would  injure  the  cotton  States,  which  consumes  them.  He 
ridiculed  Virginia  for  her  want  of  Southern  sentiment,  and 
foretold  her  dismemberment,  if  not  her  entire  defection  to  '  Ab- 
olitiondom,'  as  he  was  pleased  to  call  the  public  opinion  of 
Christendom. 

"  '  No !'  substantially  exclaimed  the  advocate  of  piracy,  '  No  ! 
I  hope  the  hour  is  not  far  distant,  when  the  cotton  States,  no 
longer  dependent  on  the  slave-producers  of  Virginia,  will 
scatter  among  their  people  a  wealth  of  negroes,  which  will 
enable  every  white  man  to  own  one  or  more.  At  the  present 
ruinous  prices,  which  accrue  to  the  benefit  of  Virginia  and 
Kentucky  only,  there  is  danger  of  such  a  reduction  in  the 
number  of  owners  that  there  might  be  a  collision  between  the 
slaveholders  and  non-slaveholders,  which  would  dethrone  King 
Cotton  and  destroy  his  influence  forever ;  and  that  the  only 
way  to  avert  this  impending  crisis,  was  to  import,  from  Africa, 
cheap  laborers  for  the  benefit  of  the  cotton-growing  States. 


42  INTRODUCTION. 

lie  said  that  Virginia  was  incapable  of  supplying  the  increas 
ing  demand  at  any  price,  and  that,  even  if  she  could,  the  result 
must  be  fatal,  for  that  the  Africans  were  rapidly  losing  their 
color  and  other  valuable  qualities  in  the  great  Caucasian  race, 
and  needed  a  fresh  infusion  of  pure  African  blood  to  prevent 
their  entire  absorption.' 

"  It  is  not  my  intention  to  give  a  synopsis  of  the  fiery  de 
nunciations  that  constituted  the  staple  of  Mr.  Yancey's  speeches 
in  that  assembly.  Suffice  it  to  say,  that,  while  in  his  whole 
tirade,  he  did  not  once,  even  by  implication,  disclaim  his  de 
sire  to  reopen  the  African  slave-trade,  he  denounced  the  Federal 
laws  prohibiting  it,  as  partial  to  the  Northern  manufacturers, 
and  hostile,  in  spirit,  to  the  agricultural  and  commercial  in 
terests  of  the  cotton-growing  States.  He  did  not  hesitate  to 
denounce  Wilberforce  as  a  whimsical  sentimentalist,  and  even 
pronounced  England  herself  a  pseudo-philanthropist,  who,  if 
ever  she  dared  to  interfere  against  King  Cotton,  would  find 
herself  reduced,  before  the  eyes  of  the  world,  to  the  melancholy 
alternative  of  domestic  misery  and  revolt,  or  of  confining  her 
charities  to  her  own  suffering  subjects  at  home. 

"  Here  let  me  parenthesise,  that  whenever  such  men  as  Wil 
liam  L.  Yancey  speak  of  the  South,  they  never  mean  the  non- 
slaveholders,  who  represent  the  numerical  proportion  of  fif 
teen  to  one  as  compared  with  the  '  planters,'  or  slaveholders. 

"  Although,  in  this  republican  form  of  government,  which 
claims  the  people  as  the  sovereign,  and  a  majority  as  the 
ruler,  the  non-slaveholders  are,  by  far,  the  most  important 
class,  yet,  on  account  of  the  skillful  agitation  of  the  slavery 
question,  the  slaveholders  have  obtained  a  despotic  mastery, 
and  allude  exclusively  to  themselves  and  their  property,  when 
they  use  the  expressions  '  the  South,'  '  Southern  interests,'  &c. 

"  In  order  to  '  defend  the  South'  and  '  her  institutions,'  from 
the  encroachments  of  the  public  opinion  of  Christendom,  and 
the  uncomfortable  juxtaposition  of  light  with  darkness,  secret 
leagues  and  associations  were  inaugurated,  consisting  entirely 
of  sworn  conspirators,  who,  being  silently  armed  with  the 
stolen  guns  of  the  unsuspecting  government,  resisted  the  laws 
by  seizing  the  forts,  arsenals,  and  property  of  that  government, 
to  the  great  astonishment  of  the  uninitiated  of  both  the  South 


INTRODUCTION.  4J 

and  the  North.  Thus,  possessing  all  the  implements  of  mili 
tary  power,  this  diabolical  mob  stifled  every  breath  of  remon 
strance,  and  almost  every  thought  of  resistance.  Some  of  the 
oppressed  and  insulted  Unionists  (myself  among  the  number) 
openly  opposed  the  reign  of  terror,  which  was  studiously  pro 
duced  by  Yancey  and  his  colleagues.  False  imprisonments, 
murders,  expatriation,  '  cruel  and  unusual  punishments/ — the 
torture  by  cowhide,  tar  and  feathers,  and  fence-rails,  public 
and  private  confiscations, — these  were  the  coercives  which  en 
sued,  and  which  immolated,  on  the  very  altars  whereon  these 
men  had  sought  to  sacrifice  their  country,  the  freedom  of  the 
press  and  the  liberty  of  speech. 

"  The  writer  of  this,  formerly  the  partner  in  law  of  Yancey, 
but  true  to  his  oath  to  support  the  Constitution  and  the  Union, 
was  mobbed  in  Alabama,  not  far  from  Montgomery,  because 
he  determined  to  lose  his  life,  before  he  would  consent  to  gain 
it  by  submitting  to  such  an  unholy  usurpation.  Frequently 
approached  on  the  subject  of  identifying  himself  with  the 
secret  league  of  United  Southerners  (the  offspring  of  Yancey's 
perfidy  and  genius),  he  persistently  refused  ;  frequently  '  cried 
down'  at  public  meetings,  when  he  but  endeavored  to  fulfill 
his  obligations  to  his  non-slaveholding  brethren,  he  would  try 
it  again,  until  he  was  finally  mobbed,  maltreated,  and  exiled 
'  by  some  of  the  most  respectable  citizens'  of  Lowndes  county, 
contrary  to  the  laws  of  the  United  States,  of  the  Confederate 
States,  and  contrary  to  the  unrepealed  statute  of  the  State  of 
Alabama. 

"  But,  although  ill-used,  he  still  survives,  and,  from  that 
unmerited  obscurity  to  which  his  enemies  have  endeavored  to 
consign  him,  he  keeps  a  bright  lookout  upon  the  game  which 
his  country's  (and  his  own)  enemies  are  playing,  and  now  and 
then  defeats  the  intentions  of  corrupt  players  when  they  en 
deavor  to  cheat. 

"If  I  can  advance  the  cause  of  truth,  justice,  and  our  still 
glorious,  because  righteous,  Union,  I  will  be  better  pleased 
with  my  humble  fate,  than  to  enjoy  all  the  hospitalities  of  a 
gorgeous  court  by  a  system  of  intrigue  and  falsehood  unparal 
leled  in  history.  No  true  gentleman  considers  me  '  degraded ' 


44:  INTRODUCTION. 

by  what  has  been  done  by  a  brutal  mob,  and,  despite  my  mis 
fortunes,  I  remain  infinitely  above  my  late  partner  in  law,  be 
cause  I  have  ever  refused  to  become  his  partner  in  crime ! 

"  Independently  of  the  patriotism  which  impels  me  to  cherish 
the  Union  of  my  fathers,  I  am  really  solicitous  that  Great 
Britain,  the  land  of  my  ancestry  on  both  sides  of  the  house, 
shall  not  ignore  all  her  grand  legislation  on  this  subject,  and 
lend  her  powerful  aid  to  reinstate  the  foulest  traffic  known  to 
history. 

"Of  my  British  descent  I  am  justly  proud.  Col.  William 
Cunnington,  whose  relations  of  that  name  still  live  (in  Lon 
don,  I  believe),  was  the  lineal  maternal  ancestor  of  my  father. 
In  the  time  of  nullification  in  South  Carolina  (1832),  my 
father  was  the  only  Unionist  out  of  four  brothers.  I  have  the 
proud  satisfaction  of  being  true,  therefore,  not  only  to  my 
country  and  my  oath,  but  also  to  the  memory  of  him,  whose 
sacred  dust  I  am  interdicted  by  the  fiends  of  mobocracy  from 
revisiting. 

"  I  am  not  permitted  to  correspond  with  the  mother  from 
whose  presence  I  was  illegally  and  cruelly  torn.  I  know  not 
whether  she  be  still  alive.  If  she  be,  may  these  tearful  lines 
convey  to  her  the  assurance,  so  necessary  to  a  mother's  heart, 
that  her  ill-used  son  (with  his  expatriated  family)  is  alive  and 
well. 
f  "  '  Oh  !  if  there  be,  in  this  world  of  care, 

A  boon,  an  offering,  Heaven  holds  dear, 

'Tis  the  last  libation  Liberty  draws 

From  the  heart  that  bleeds  and  breaks  in  her  cause  !' 

"  This  reflection  is  my  rich  reward  and  my  consolation. 
"  I  am,  &c., 

"  ROBERT  S.  THARIN." 

The  following,  from  the  Richmond  (Indiana) 
Palladium  of  January  4, 1862,  edited  by  the  Hon. 
D.  P.  Holloway,  and  the  high-sonled,  patriotic, 
and  talented  Ben.  Davis,  is,  not  inappropriately, 
added  here : 


INTRODUCTION.  45 

"  THARIN  vs.  YANCEY. 

"  Some  time  ago,  R.  S.  Tharin,  Esq.,  of  this  city,  informed 
us  lie  had  written  to  the  London  News,  refuting  the  position 
taken  by  Yancey  in  the  London  Times,  that  he  (Yancey)  was 
not  nor  ever  had  been  in  favor  of  reopening  the  African  slave- 
trade.  We  notice  in  the  Cincinnati  Daily  Commercial  of  Dec. 
21,  the  following  allusion  to  that  letter.  The  Commercial 
locates  our  friend  Tharin  as  being  in  London  at  the  time  of 
his  writing  the  letter,  which  is  a  mistake,  as  he  was  at  Con- 
nersville  on  a  recruiting  expedition  for  the  57th  Regiment,  at 
the  time  he  penned  the  article.  The  Commercial  says  : 

"  'In  a  recent  letter  to  the  London  Times,  Mr.  William  L. 
Yancey,  one  of  the  so-called  commissioners  from  Jeff.  Davis  'a 
bogus  government,  tried  to  conciliate  our  English  brethren  by 
asserting  that  he  had  never  been  in  favor  of  the  renewal  of 
the  African  slave-trade.  Unfortunately  for  Yancey,  this  in 
trepid  falsehood  fell  under  the  notice  of  his  old  law-partner, 
Mr.  Robert  S.  Tharin,  in  London  at  the  time,  and  who,  in  a 
letter  to  the  News,  shows  that  Yancey  is  as  big  a  liar  as  lie  is 
a  traitor.  Both  Mr.  Yancey  and  Mr.  Tharin  were  delegates  to 
the  Southern  Commercial  Convention  at  Montgomery,  May, 
1 858  ;  and,  at  that  convention,  Yancey  "  denounced  the  Federal 
laws  prohibiting  the  slave-trade,  as  partial  to  the  Northern 
manufacturer,  and  hostile  in  spirit  to  the  agricultural  and 
commercial  interests  of  the  cotton-growing  States."  He,  at 
the  same  time,  offered  the  following  resolution : 

"  '  Resolved,  That  the  Federal  laws  prohibiting  the  African 
slave-trade  ought  to  be  repealed. 

"  '  This  disposes  of  Yancey's  claim  to  veracity,  and  shows 
how  worthy  a  representative  he  is  of  that  prince  of  liars  and 
repudiators,  Jeff.  Davis.'  " 

Before  proceeding  with  my  adventures  and  suf 
ferings  in  Alabama,  I  will  here  premise,  that  this 
chapter  was  written  merely  for  the  purpose  of  pre 
paring  the  reader  for  what  is  to  follow,  by  placing 
before  him  such  Northern  and  Southern  testimony 


46  INTRODUCTION. 

as  will  give  me  a  title  to  his  attention  in  the  en 
suing  pages. 

For  all  real  or  apparent  egotism  in  this  and  in 
the  ensuing  chapters,  I  must  apologize  on  the  very 
threshold.  I  know  how  difficult  it  would  be  to 
avoid  egotism  in  an  autobiography.  The  very  un 
dertaking  is  an  egotism.  But,  from  my  adven 
tures,  if  any  legal  fact  or  any  oilier  truth  ~be  re 
trieved  from  oblivion,  I  shall  not  regret  the  risk  to 
which  I  subject  myself  in  entering,  at  this  time, 
the  field  of  literature. 

I  hope  I  am  writing  more  for  the  good  of  my 
country  than  for  my  own.  Of  this  the  reader 
must  form  his  own  judgment  from  the  moderation, 
or  the  contrary,  of  my  style,  and  my  manner  of 
treating  facts. 

It  will  be  necessary,  of  course,  to  give  some 
preliminary  remarks  at  the  outset,  explaining  my 
presence  in  Alabama,  my  antecedents,  and  some 
few  occurrences  immediately  preceding  the  out 
rages  upon  my  Southern  Rights,  which  it  is  the 
duty  of  this  work  to  record. 


SCENE  THE  FIRST. 

MY  OATH. 

"  I  do  solemnly  swear  to  support  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States  and  the  Constitution  of  Alabama ;  and  never, 
for  considerations  personal  to  myself,  to  neglect  the  cause  of 
the  defenseless  and  oppressed." 

Oath  of  admission  to  the  Alabama  Bar. 

FOR  this  hour  I  have  waited  with  all  the  pa 
tience  of  one  who  always  knew  that  it  must  come 
— who  always  anticipated  the  present  glorious 
attitude  of  the  Democratic  party. 

Radicalism  must,  of  necessity,  fail  to  administer 
the  government  of  a  nation  so  extensive  and  so 
free  as  ours.  The  Union  is  at  once  the  cause  and 
the  effect  of  Conservatism.  It  was  to  be  expected 
that  the  inception  of  hostilities,  by  action  and  re 
action,  would  bring  about  sectional  antagonisms. 
This  was  the  aim  and  the  hope  of  the  diabolical 
clique  who  "  precipitated  the  Cotton  States  into  a 
revolution."  Unionism  in  the  South  was  "  tarred 
and  feathered ;"  Unionism  in  the  North  was  de 
nounced  as  "proslavery."  Yancey  in  the  South, 
Greeley  in  the  North,  belong,  in  fact,  to  the  same 
party — Disunion ! 

But  it  was  also  to  be  expected  that  the  un 
natural  excitement  would  wear  off,  and  common 


48  THE    ALABAMA    RKFUGEE. 

sense  reinstate  itself,  when  mobocracy  and  Lynch 
law  would  disgust  even  their  own  advocates. 
•  Freedom  of  speech  and  of  the  press  will  be  the 
outgrowth  of  the  very  oppressions  which  have 
muzzled  the  expression  of  conservative  Unionism 
in  the  South  and  in  the  North.  The  very  names 
of  "North"  and  "South"  will  perish  from  the 
memory,  and  the  malignity  of  sectionalism  will 
die  for  the  want  of  a  basis  of  operations. 

If  this  book,  baptized  in  the  blood  and  charred 
by  the  fires  of  a  revolution,  the  occurrence  of 
which  I  periled  my  life  to  prevent,  shall  add  one 
atom  ol  success,  one  drop  of  power,  to  that  great 
Niagara  of  Conservative  Unionism  which  is  soon 
to  burst  over  both  sections  in  irresistible  force — 
washing  out  the  blood-stains  of  Radicalism,  to 
gether  with  the  unpatriotic  names  of  "  North" 
and  "  South," — it  will,  just  so  far,  accomplish  the 
principal  purpose  for  which  it  is  now  dedicated  to 
my  whole — my  bleeding  country. 

I  was  born  on  the  paternal  estate  of  "Mag 
nolia,"  just  outside  of  the  corporate  limits  of  the 
city  of  Charleston,  S.  C.,  on  the  10th  day  of  Jan 
uary,  1830.  After  many  hardships,  I  obtained,  by 
my  own  perseverance,  from  the  College  of  Charles 
ton,  my  degree  of  A.  B.  in  March,  1857;  and  in 
the  State  of  Alabama,  to  which  I  had  emigrated 
in  September,  185T,  I  received  my  degree  of  A.  M. 
in  1860. 

My  ancestry,  on  both  sides  of  the  house,  were 
decent  people,  I  am  not  ashamed  to  record  that 


SCENE    THE    FIKST.  49 

William  Cunnington,  my  lineal  paternal  ancestor, 
was  a  revolutionary  colonel,  under  Gen.  Francis 
Marion,  the  great  "  Swamp  Fox"  of  Carolina  his 
tory.  Nor  will  it  bring  the  blush  of  shame  to  my 
cheek  to  say  that  my  maternal  grandfather,  the 
Eev.  Robert  S.  Symmes,  was  a  graduate  of  Queen's 
College,  Oxford,  in  England,  of  which  realm  he 
was  a  native,  and  that  he  held  a  high  place  among 
the  literati  of  the  Queen  city  of  the  South.  My 
honored  father — may  he  rest  in  peace ! — needs  no 
higher  eulogy  than  that,  in  1832,  he  was  the  only 
Unionist  of  four  brothers;  and  that,  in  1852,  and 
even  up  to  the  time  of  his  decease,  he  remained 
firmly  devoted  to  the  integrity  of  the  nation ! 

My  uncle  Theodore,  a  Co-operationist  .in  1852, 
a  Secessionist  in  1862,  rejoices  in  the  possession  of 
the  life-size  likeness  of  Col.  Wm.  Cunnington,  his 
Union  grandfather ! 

My  uncle  Edward  keeps,  as  an  heir-loom,  the 
likeness  of  the  Father  of  his  country,  presented  by 
his  own  sacred  hand  to  my  grandmother  under 
the  following  inspiring  circumstances  : 

Under  the  magnificent  "  magnolia,"  from  which 
the  whole  Cunnington  estate  was  called — and  un 
der  whose  mighty  branches  my  early  boyhood 
was  mostly  passed — was  grouped  a  dinner  party, 
in  honor  of  a  visit  from  Gen.  George  Washington 
to  his  intimate  friend  Col.  Cunnington.  The  toasts 
were  over,  the  company  were  about  to  rise,  when 
a  lovely  apparition  riveted  all  eyes  to  the  table. 

Arrayed  in  a  dress,  composed  of  the  stars  and 


50  THE    ALABAMA    REFUGEE. 

stripes,  stood  a  little  girl,  with  a  full-blown  mag 
nolia  (or  "  laurel,"  as  it  is  commonly  called  there) 
in  her  right  hand.  With  childish  simplicity  she 
approached  the  great  Washington — who  was  ac 
customed  to  such  tributes,  and  who  was  not  at 
all  abashed,  although  a  very  modest  man,  by  so 
pointed  an  action — and  lisped  these  words : 

"  Will  General  Washington,  who  has  won  so 
many  unfading  laurels  already,  accept  of  this  em 
blem  of  his  greatness  from  a  very  little  girl  ?" 

Amid  the  smiles  of  the  company,  the  Father  of 
his  country,  taking  the  gift,  rose,  and,  being  a 
man  of  but  few  words,  took  from  his  finger  a  ring, 
containing  a  likeness  of  himself  (which  I  have 
often  seen),  and  handed  it  to  my  grandmother, 
whom  he  at  the  same  time  affectionately  kissed. 

Could  General  Washington  rise  from  his  grave, 
he  would  see  most  of  the  descendants  of  that  little 
girl,  who  has  long  since  left  this  world  of  trouble, 
struggling  to  overthrow  that  Union  for  which  he 
spilled  his  blood,  and  the  perpetuation  of  which 
he  strenuously  and  repeatedly  urged  upon  them 
in  his  prophetic  Farewell  Address ! 

Could  Col.  Cunnington  revisit  the  scenes  of  his 
usefulness,  he  would  request  that  the  name  of 
"  Cunnington''  be  dropped  from  the  names  of 
those  of  his  descendants  who  have  disgraced  it 

o 

by  disunionism,  retained  by  my  deceased  Union 
father,  and  added  to  the  name  of  him  who  writes 
these  filial  words. 

My  immigration  to  Alabama  was  not  the  result 


SCENE    THE    FIRST.  5J 

of  a  preference  for  that  State.  I  was  invited 
thither  by  letter.  "William  B.  Penrifoj,  an  old 
school  and  college  friend  and  classmate,  wrote  me 
that  my  presence  in  Wetumpka  was  solicited  as  a 
teacher  of  the  male  academy  at  that  place.  I  went 
in  consequence  of  that  letter,  and  found  the  city 
of  Wetumpka,  like  Washington,  a  "  city  of  mag 
nificent  distances."  The  buildings,  however,  were 
neither  so  large  nor  so  numerous  as  those  of  the 
latter  city.  From  the  refined  "  Queen  city  of  the 
South"  to  the  rural  town  of  Wetumpka  was  a 
letting  down ;  but  I  determined  to  do  my  duty  to 
the  children  under  my  charge,  and  I  did  it. 

In  the  spring  term  of  1859,  I  was  admitted  to 
the  practice  of  law  at  Eockford,  Coosa  county, 
Alabama.  Judge  Porter  King,  now  a  Secessionist, 
and  always  a  Disunionist,  administered  the  oath, 
which  I  signed  in  open  court,  and  by  which  I 
solemnly  swore  (as  every  admitted  lawyer  in  the 
room,  including  the  judge  himself  and  Win.  L. 
Yancey,  had  done)  "  to  support  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States  and  the  Constitution  of  Ala 
bama,  and  never,  for  considerations  personal  to 
myself,  to  neglect  the  cause  of  the  defenseless  and 
the  oppressed"  As  this  narrative  is  developed, 
the  reader  will  become  convinced  that  it  was  for 
making  myself  an  exception  to  the  members  of 
the  bar,  and  the  national  and  State  officials,  ly 
religiously  and  firmly  keeping  my  oath,  that  I 
suffered  the  horrors  of  persecution  in  the  reign 
of  terror  so  soon  to  ensue. 


52  THE    ALABAMA    REFUGEE. 

No  sooner  had  I  opened  my  law-office  in  Wc- 
tumpka,  than  an  opportunity  occurred  for  me  to 
risk  something  for  the  sake  of  my  oath.  One  of 
the  "  poor  white  trash"  was  dragged  down  to  the 
margin  of  the  river,  laid  across  a  log,  and  whipped 
by  a  throng  of  blackguards,  on  the  charge  that  he 
sold  liquor  to  negroes.  They  had  charged  him 
once  with  being  a  negro,  and,  afterwards,  with 
associating  with  negroes.  lie  was  ridden  on  a 
rail  until  his  clothes  were  literally  torn  off  his 
body.  From  the  lintel  of  his  own  door  he  was 
repeatedly  hanged  until  he  was  black  in  the  face. 

This  victim  of  unauthorized  power  sought  my 
office  and  asked  my  advice.  He  was  a  pitiable 
object.  Fright  and  general  bad  usage  had  left 
their  marks  upon  him.  I  could  not  refrain  from 
smiling,  as  he  entered  in  palpable  alarm,  lest  I 
should  kick  him  down  stairs  for  asking  for  his 
rights.  My  eyes  were  not  "quite  closed  to  the 
condition  of  the  South  even  then  (1859).  I  had 
felt  some  very  unpleasant  and  some  very  indig 
nant  emotions,  when  seeing  the  prostration  of  the 
many  at  the  footstool  of  the  few1-. 

Franklin  Veitch,  as  he  called  himself,  com 
menced  his  story.  During  its  recital,  sometimes 
he  would  stand  on  one  foot,  sometimes  on  the 
other,  his  hat  traveling  about  from  one  hand  to 
the  other,  from  his  head  to  the  chair,  from  the 
chair  to  his  head.  He  sat  down  at  my  invitation, 
but,  the  seat  of  his  pants  having  been  ridden  off 
on  the  jagged  fence-rail  the  .night  before,  the  cold 


SCKNK    THE    FIRST.  53 

contact  of  the  chair  started  him  back  to  his  feet ; 
and  I  involuntarily  burst  into  loud  laughter.  My 
mirth  was  echoed  from  the  pavement  beneath  my 
window. 

Poor  Yeitch    was    overwhelmed.     Seizing    his 

O 

hat,  and  turning  upon  me  a  reproachful  glance, 
which  conveyed  a  lugubrious  "  d.  tu,  J?/ititr,"  ex 
pression,  he  muttered  in  a  tone  which  cut  me  to 
the  heart,  "  There  aiiCt  no  justice  in  Alabama!" 

I  felt  humiliated.  I  approached  the  poor  trem 
bling  victim  of  mobocracy.  1  looked  with  changed 
feelings  upon  him.  Encouraged  by  my  manner, 
he  raised  his  cowering  eyes.  Fear  had  added  a 
gleam  of  almost  insanity  to  their  expression  ;  but 
there  was  a  ray  of  hopeful  intelligence,  as  he 
caught  my  pitying  glance,  which  was  very  touch 
ing. 

"  Mr.  Vcitch,  who  sent  you  to  me*'7 

"Mr.  Hill." 

"  "What  do  you  want  ?" 

"  Fair  play.*" 

"  Do  you  want  my  services  as  a  lawyer?" 

"  Yes,  sir." 

"  You  are  too  much  excited  now — come  to  me 
next  week." 

"Will  you  take  my  case  tlten?" 

"  May  be  so." 

Veitch  retired. 

Having  made  inquiry  as  to  the  facts  of  the 
case,  I  found  that  Yeitch  had  been  a  victim  to 
even  Avorse  than  that  of  which  lie  complained. 


54:  THE    ALABAMA    REFUGEE. 

My  oath,  "  never,  for  considerations  personal  to 
myself,  to  neglect  the  cause  of  the  defenseless  and 
oppressed"  returned  to  my  recollection.  I  found 
that  to  keep  that  oath  would  subject  me  to  great 
loss  of  popularity,  because  the  ringleaders  of  the 
little  mob  were  the  most  popular  of  the  young 
men  of  the  town,  long  residents,  and  endowed 
with  negro  property,  that  great  passport  to  im 
punity. 

In  order  to  show  the  reader  the  fatal  alternative 
which  was  presi  i.ting  itself  before  my  mind,  I  will 
explain  to  him  that  I  was  not  myself  a  slaveholder, 
and  that  I  was  ambitious  of  success  in  the  noble 
profession  of  my  choice,  for  which  I  have  always 
had  a  passion. 

I  almost  hoped  that  Yeitch  would  not  come 
back.  As  the  time  drew  near  I  thought  he  had 
forgotten ;  but  no !  he  came,  and  again  asked  me 
to  take  his  case.  He  even  urged  me  to  take  it  for 
the  sake  of  justice. 

I  did  not  believe  him  to  be  a  worthy  man.  I 
thought  him  a  low-minded  wretch,  as  he  after 
ward  proved ;  but  I  knew  him  to  be  "defenseless 
and  oppressed." 

This  was  an  unpleasant  predicament.  I  felt  a 
strange  anger  against  Yeitch  ;  I  almost  hated  him 
for  being  "defenseless"  and  for  being  "oppressed." 

But  I  took  his  case.  Thank  God,  1  kept  my  oath  ! 
How  few  lawyers,  alas !  can  say  that  they  kept 
their  oaths  when  interest  opposed  duty  ! 

Then  dawned  DAY  THE  FIRST  of  my  bitter  but 


SCENE    THE    FIRST.  55 

virtuous  experience — a  struggle  that  shook  the 
whole  community.  The  parties  sued  became  more 
than  ever  unmerciful  to  Veitch.  They  threatened 
to  kill  him,  if  he  did  not  leave  the  community 
in  so  many  hours  ;  they  offered  him  bribes.  The 
poor  whites  of  the  town  secretly  encouraged  him 
to  remain.  The  case  was  docketed,  and  the  time 
of  court  was  approaching.  What  the  defendants 
had  to  do  must  be  done  quickly.  Yeitch  disap 
peared.  I  appeared  at  court;  the  case  was  called, 
and  a  paper  was  produced  by  the  defendants  dis- 

His 

missing  the  case,  and  signed  "  Franklin  x  Yeitch." 

mark. 

I  offered  to  prove  duress  ;  but  the  judge  dismissed 
the  matter  with  indecent  haste. 

This  ^^-slaveholder  had  yielded  his  rights 
through  fear,  and  had  allowed  himself  to  be  taken 
out  of  the  town.*  I  have  never  heard ^r^m  him 
since,  but  it  seemed  to  me,  at  one  time,  I  would 
never  cease  to  hear  of  him.  I  became  the  most 
unpopular  man  in  Wetumpka.  Lies  had  been 
freely  circulated  pending  the  trial.  For  keeping 
iiuj  oath  in  that  case,  I  almost  lost  all.  But  there 
were  other  counties  in  which  I  practiced  with  im 
mediate  success. 

Franklin  Veitch  was  sent  into  my  office  by  a 
divine  power,  in  order  that  I  might  receive  my 
sight.  Before  that  circumstance,  I  had  seen  events 
dimly,  and  "men,  like  trees  walking;"  but,  with 


*  To  Columbus,  Georgia,  I  believe. 


56  THE    ALABAMA    REFUGEE. 

a  sudden  unpleasant  awakening,  I  found  myself 
in  a  modern  Sodom,  and  felt  my  blood  curdle 
within  me  at  the  recollection  that  the  class  to 
which  Yeitch  belonged  had  been  growing  more 
and  more  degraded,  more  "  defenseless"  and  more 
"  oppressed,"  ever  since  I  could  remember. 

In  my  native  South  Carolina  I  had  been  too 
young  to  note  the  workings  of  aristocracy  upon 
the  oppressed  poor.  Every  one  in  that  State  is 
too  busy  in  the  praiseworthy  task  of  identifying 
him  or  herself  with  the  "  powers  that  be," — in 
tracing  their  "  respectability"  to  the  fountain-head 
of  the  first  families,  whether  whig  or  tory,  and  in 
finding  out  some  unfortunate  family  upon  whom 
to  look  down, — too  much  absorbed  in  such  de 
lightful  and  ennobling  pursuits  to  pause  for  the 
scrutinizing  of  the  flaws  in  the  "  system  of  civili 
zation"  in  which,  as  primaries  or  satellites,  they 
all  unconsciously  revolve.  Reared  in  the  midst 
of  aristocratic  pretension,  my  youthful  days  were 
stained  with  a  pride  of  which  I  am  now  heartily 
ashamed,  and  the  utter  meanness  of  which  it  has 
been  given  me  to  discover  and  renounce.  I  pity, 
from  my  soul,  the  bigoted  vacuity  of  the  man  who, 
in  the  hard-handed  mechanic,  upon  whose  perspi 
ration  he  lives,  as  the  fly  lives  in  the  exhalations 
of  the  horse  or  the  ox,  can  see  only  society's 
"  mudsill,"  and  in  himself  discovers  the  super 
structure,  which  debases  the  system  upon  which 
it  rests.  But  I  was  gradually  drawn  to  this 
higher  stand-point.  I  ascended  the  slope  of  dis- 


SCENE    THE    FIRST.  57 

covery  with  painful  steps.  The  sensible  horizon 
is  ever  in  the  way  of  the  rational  horizon.  I  had, 
as  it  were,  to  mount  above  and  beyond  the  petty 
elevation  of  education,  and,  by  actual  insight,  by 
ocular  revelation,  coupled  with  the  sublime  influ 
ence  of  a  recorded  and  a  solemn  oath,  to  meet  the 
usurper  face  to  face,  before  I  could  discover  the 
cause  of  so  much  woe,  the  origin  of  so  much  evil 
as  was  constantly  passing  before  my  eyes. 

There  are  many  Franklin  Yeitches  in  the  South 
to-day — many  in  the  army  of  Secession  ;  and  for 
every  Franklin  Yeitch  there  is  a  perjured  lawyer; 
and  for  every  perjured  lawyer,  an  outraged  State 
Constitution.  The  leaders  of  the  conspiracy  are 
loud  in  their  exclamations  for  State  rights  j  but 
their  whole  scheme  is  based  upon  the  destruction 
of  State  and  personal  rights.  They  pretend  to 
timthem  independence,  but  ignore  the  personal 
independence  of  the  white  people  of  the  South  ; 
they  shout  "  Southern  rights,"  yet  they  have  com 
pletely  annihilated  Southern  rights:  mine,  alas! 
are — where? 

The  Secessionists  have  trampled  upon  the  Con 
stitution  of  the  United  States,  tlie  bills  of  rights  of 
the  several  Southern  States,  and  the  "  Constitution 
of  the  Confederate  States  of  America" — every 
provision  of  each  of  which  relating  to  personal 
security  they  have,  from  first  to  last,  deliberately 
ignored. 

This  occurred  in  1859.  Thus  early  my  mind 
was,  unhappily  for  myself  and  family — but  for 


58  THE    ALABAMA    REFUGEE. 

some  good  purpose  I  must  think — set  to  work  upon 
the  subject  of  "Southern  Rights" 

There  was  another  cause,  which  placed  me  in 
an  unpopular  attitude  in  Alabama.  I  had  advo 
cated,  in  a  series  of  articles,  in  the  "Wetumpka 
Enquirer,  the  establishment  of  small  farms,  and 
the  use  of  the  water-power  of  the  falls  and  rapids 
of  the  Coosa,  which  flows  through  that  village.  I 
had  proved  the  injurious  effects  upon  the  "  the 
people"  of  over-grown  plantations,  and  had  ex 
pressed  the  belief  that  Wetumpka  would  soon 
eclipse  Montgomery,  should  a  judicious  application 
be  made  of  the  water-power  and  the  mineral, 
medicinal,  and  agricultural  elements  of  success 
which  abounded  all  around  and  within  her.  I 
also  advocated  the  abolition  of  all  monopolies : 
such  as  the  penitentiary  system,  by  which  the 
crime  of  the  State  was  engaged  in  industrial  pur 
suits,  to  the  loss  of  the  virtuous  poor  mechanic.  I 
was  never  popular  with  the  cotton-planters  after 
that.  Small  farms  would  benefit  the  "  masses," 
and  that  would  injure  them;  agricultural  pursuits 
would  make  white  men  see  their  interests,  and 
that  would  diminish  the  power  of  "King  Cotton.'' 
But  greater  events  soon  occupied  the  attention  of 
all  minds. 

It  was  some  time  before  the  occurrence  just  re 
corded,  that  the  infamous  John  Brown  raid  occur 
red.  I  make  no  apologies  for  my  own  course  at 
that  time,  which  was  to  offer  a  series  of  resolutions, 
at  a  large  public  meeting  at  Wetumpka,  strongly 


SCENE    THE    FIRST.  59 

condemnatory  of  such  diabolical  outlawry,  and 
demanding  the  protection  of  the  Federal  power  to 
preserve  the  States  from  invasion.  These  resolu 
tions  were  unanimously  adopted.  The  resolutions 
were  published  in  the  Montgomery  Advertiser  of 
that  period. 

I  had  been  led  to  suppose  the  John  Brown  raid 
to  be  the  first  of  a  series.  I  had  not  yet  heard 
the  truth — nor  was  it  until  long  afterward  that  I 
perused  the  declaration  of  John  Minor  Butts,  in 
his  appeal  to  the  people  of  Virginia,  that  the  gov 
ernor  of  Virginia  admitted  that  he  knew  it  to  be 
a  farce,  and  only  seized  upon  it  to  stir  the  blood 
of  Virginia  to  the  notes  of  war. 

I  must  not  omit  to  mention  that,  at  that  meet 
ing,  contrary  to  my  crjnws  (lexire,  a  vigilance 
committee  was  appointed,  that  I  was  included  in 
that  committee,  and  that,  at  their  first  meeting, 
which  was  in  my  office,  I  proposed  to  them  the 
resolving  ourselves  into  a  nucleus  for  a  new  na 
tional  party ,  to  be  called  the  Union  f)arty .  I  pre 
sented  them  a  paper,  fur  their  signatures.  The 
proposition  was  met  with  indignation,  and  my 
name  Avas,  at  my  desire,  dropped  from  the  mem 
bership  of  the  committee. 

I  then  appealed  to  the  citizens  of  Wetumpka 
personally.  A  few  only  responded — each  saying 
lie  wanted  the  Union,  but  the  democratic  party 
would  save  it.  (This  was  before  the  "split"  in 
Charleston,  S.  C.)  I  remember  Col.  Saxon  espe 
cially  said  it  was  a  good  thing,  but  that  the  Ka- 


60  THE    ALABAMA    REFUGEE. 

tional  Democracy  would  yet  save  the  Union  —  a 
prophecy  which  will,  I  think,  be  soon  fulfilled. 

About  this  time,  at  Montgomery,  fourteen  miles 
off,  an  advertisement,  appeared  calling  upon  the 
citizens  to  meet  for  the  formation  of  a  "  LEAGUE 
OF  UNITED  SOUTHERNERS."  A  great  deal  of  ex 
citement  was  the  consequence,  and  so  it  was 
announced,  a  short  time  afterward,  that  it  had 
failed.  But  it  had  not  failed.  It  was  formed 
into  a  secret  league,  although  I,  among  others, 
supposed  at  the  time  it  had  failed.  I  believe  it 
exists  to-day.  Yancey  was  and  is  the  chief. 

The  State  of  Alabama,  after  the  call  for  a 
League,  became  alive  with  transparencies.  Every 
town  was  full  of  "  Knights  of  Malta."  "VVetump- 
ka  had  its  secret  order  of  Knights,  who  carried 
about  their  transparencies  illuminated  with  sym 
bolic  characters.  "R.,  1861"  was  conspicuous 
on  them.  I  was  asked  if  I  would  join  them.  I 
demanded  to  know  their  objects.  The  objects 
were  secret,  but  for  the  benefit  of  the  "  South." 
In  what  way  ?  Joining  was  the  only  way  to 
know. 

I  did  not  join.  I  was  at  my  homo  each  night 
at  early  candlelight,  and  never  left  till  morning ; 
but  /,  too,  was  working  for  the  good  of  the  true 
South.  I  was  studying  the  census  of  1850,  and 
preparing  myself  to  tell  the  people  truths  which 
they  never  had  been  permitted  to  know  before. 

But  I  must  not  anticipate. 

My  politics  were  national  democratic.     I  was 


SCENE   THE    FIRST.  Cl 

for  the  nomination  of  Stephen  A.  Douglas,  as  the 
only  candidate  who  could  save  the  Union  by  his 
election.  When  the  "great  split"  occurred  at 
Charleston,  I  was  completely  undecided  what  to 
do.  I  was  disposed  then  to  condemn  the  persist 
ency  of  the  Douglas  wing  in  keeping  their  nom 
inee  before  the  convention,  when  they  must  have 
seen  the  danger  of  disruption  which  such  a  course 
involved.  Kot  to  detain  the  reader,  however,  on 
mere  questions  of  expediency,  suffice  it  to  say  that, 
after  deep  reflection  upon  the  duties  of  every 
American  citizen  in  such  a  crisis,  I  resolved  to 
select  those  candidates  who  were  most  unequivo 
cally  for  the  "  Union,  the  Constitution,  and  the 
enforcement  of  the  Laws."  This  I  did  without 
any  sacrifice  of  my  national  democracy. 

During  the  great  presidential  canvass,  which 
resulted  in  the  lamentable  elevation  of  Abraham 
Lincoln  to  the  chief  magistracy,  I  was  frequent  in 
my  addresses  to  the  people  on  the  one  inexhausti 
ble  theme  of  the  Union  and  the  Constitution. 

As  an  elector  for  the  Bell-Everett  ticket,  my 
favorite  argument  in  support  of  my  position  was 
the  Farewell  Address  of  that  greatest  of  Southern 
ers,  George  Washington.  While  I  obtained  the 
plaudits  of  my  own  party,  I  became  the  object  of 
mingled  fear  and  hatred  by  the  disunion  dema 
gogues  of  my  adopted  State.  Disgraceful  scenes 
would  often  occur,  when,  warmed  with  my  noble 
theme,  I  would  launch  a  fiery  denunciation  at  the 
head  of  Yancey,  with  whom  my  law-partnership 

G 


62  THE    ALABAMA    REFUGEE. 

had  been  some  time  at  an  end.  Several  times  I 
was  openly  threatened  with  "  tar  and  feathers," 
and  once  was  hooted  down  from  the  rostrum. 

It  was  during  the  heat  of  the  presidential  cam 
paign,  that  the  Hon.  Jabez  L.  M.  Curry,  member 
of  Congress  for  the  7th  Congressional  District  of 
Alabama,  advertised  himself  to  speak  at  the  town 
of  "Wetumpka.  Haggerty  Hall  was  crowded  with 
a  dense  mass  of  people  of  all  parties  to  hear  the 
Congressman  on  the  exciting  questions  of  the  clay. 
During  the  progress  of  his  remarks,  the  orator  ex 
claimed  : 

"  As  soon  as  Abe  Lincoln  takes  the  Presidential 
chair,  five  hundred  thousand  Wide-awakes,  al 
ready  drilling  for  the  purpose,  will  rush  over  the 
border,  lay  waste  your  fields,  emancipate  your 
negroes,  and  amalgamate  the  poor  man's  daugh 
ter  and  the  rich  man's  buck-nigger  before  your 
very  eyes!"* 

It  would  be  impossible  to  describe  the  excite 
ment  which  this  declaration  of  Mr.  Curry  pro 
duced.  Of  course  the  Congressman  "  ought  to 
know." 

Shortly  after  this  remark  had  been  made,  I  re 
quested  Mr.  Curry  to  permit  me  to  interrupt  the 
thread  of  his  discourse,  just  to  make  a  short 
statement.  The  honorable  gentleman  audibly  con 
sented.  I  arose,  and  turned  my  face  toward  the 
audience  with  the  words  "Fellow-citizens!" 

*  See  page  197. 


SCENE   THE   FIRST.  63 

At  a  signal  from  the  chief  of  the  Secret  Asso 
ciation,  of  which  Mr.  Curry  was  indisputably  an 
honored  member,  a  sudden  yell  shook  the  building 
to  its  foundation.  Every  species  of  noise,  and  in 
almost  every  degree  of  intensity,  pervaded  the 
hall.  The  clamor  was  increased  by  the  Uell  and 
Douglas  men,  who  shouted  encouragingly  to  their 
Union  representative.  I  fully  expected  Mr.  Curry 
to  relieve  me  of  all  embarrassment  by  explaining 
the  facts.  But  the  assistant  precipitator,  eager  for 
applause,  and  ignoring  his  permission  just  given, 
remained  imperturbably  silent. 

Under  the  circumstances,  I  contented  myself 
with  silencing  the  most  vociferous  of  my  perse 
cutors  with  my  clenched  fist,  and  sat  down. 

After  the  meeting  was  over,  I  dared  any  man 
in  the  town  to  say  that  he  went  into  that  meeting 
previously  agreed  to  cry  me  down.  Xo  one  re 
sponded,  although  Kobert  Clark  was  sufficiently 
alarmed  to  have  been  the  man.  This  man,  after 
having  been  the  most  conspicuous  Secessionist  in 
town  during  the  Presidential  canvass,  backed  down 
completely  when  the  war  actually  commenced. 
His  treason  was  not  even  extenuated  by  courage. 
He  planted  a  little  cotton,  and  so  he  left  the  brave 
non-slaveholders,  whom  he  had  helped  to  madden 
with  false  statements,  to  fight  and  die  in  order  that 
he  might  lounge  around  Wetumpka  and  retail  the 
news.  I  suppose  lie  was  conscrijAcd,  if  he  ever 
entered  the  army  at  all. 

Shortly  after  the  disgraceful  affair  just  alluded 


G-i  THE    ALABAMA    REFUGEE. 

to,  I  was  informed  that  there  would  be  a  meeting 
for  free  discussion  at  Buyckville,  a  German  settle 
ment  about  twelve  miles  from  Wetumpka.  As 
such  meetings  were  very  rare,  I  made  it  my  busi 
ness  to  be  present.  I  also  wanted  a,n  opportunity 
to  expose  the  disunionism  of  John  C.  Breckenridge 
and  others,  and  hoped  it  would  be  accorded  me. 

On  my  arrival  in  the  village,  I  perceived  that  I 
had  been  cruelly  deceived.  I  do  not  think  my 
informant  had  set  a  trap  for  me,  but  I  found  my 
self  in  the  midst  of  a  meeting  of  Breckenridgers, 
who  were  assembled  for  the  purpose  of  organizing 
a  club  for  their  own  party,  and  who  were  actually 
in  expectation  of  Breckenridge  speakers  from  We 
tumpka,  who  had  engaged  to  be  present. 
•  As  mere  lookers-on  in  Vienna,  there  were  pres 
ent  five  "  Bell-Everett  men"  and  eleven  "  Douglas 
men,"  total  sixteen  Unionists. 

Having  comfortably  disposed  of  my  horse  and 
buggy,  I  approached  the  tavern,  which  also  drove 
a  dry-goods  business,  and,  saluting  the  crowd, 
soon  found  myself  in  conversation  with  an  old 
acquaintance,  William  Speigner,  who  informed  me 
of  my  mistake,  but  insisted  I  should  speak  before 
the  crowd,  saying  that  he  would  manage  it. 

A  stranger  approached  us,  wras  introduced  as  a 
Bell  man,  and  left  us  to  make  arrangements. 

There  was  a  slight  board  partition  only  between 
us  and  several  practitioners  at  the  bar  in  the  next 
room.  The  following  conversation  was  therefore 
audible : 


SCENE  JHE    FIRST.  65 

"  Did  you  see  Bob  Tharin  drive  up  ?" 

"  Ya-as." 

"  Do  you  think  he'll  speak  ?" 

"  Dunno." 

"  But  /know  he  won't ,  d — n  him!" 

"  Why  not  ?" 

"  Bekase  he's  a  d— d  traitor !" 

"  You  don't  tell !" 

"  T'  be  sure.  He's  the  very  man  we  hollered 
down  atWetumpky  t'other  day,  and  we  kin  do  it 
agin,  I  reckon." 

"  Go  in,  Pete,  I'm  along!" 

"  Hello  !  Jo,  come  in  here  !" 

An  outside  voice  answered,  "  Hello  !" 

The  outsider  became  an  insider.  I  heard  him 
enter,  when  he  was  thus  addressed  by  the  first 
speaker : 

"Jo,  you  ain't  for  lettin'  Tharin  speak,  ay  re 
you  ?" 

"  Yes  !  most  emphatically,  I  am  /" 

"Well,  I  ain't!" 

"  Why  ?" 

"  Bekase  he  was  hollered  down  at  Curry's  meetin' 
at  Wetumpky." 

"Well!  what  of  that?" 

"  D —  me  if  I  want  to  listen  to  his  d —  Union 
stuff." 

"  Pete,  you're  a  fool.  The  way  to  make  people 
want  to  hear  the  man  is  to  talk  as  you  do.  I  am 
for  letting  him  git  up  to  talk,  and  then — 

Here  followed  a  whispered  conversation,  when, 
6* 


66  THE    ALABAMA    REFUGEE. 

with  a  roar  of  laughter,  the  three,  having  imbibed 
a  last  drink,  went  toward  the  school-house,  which 
rose  dilapidated  in  its  vine-clad  grotto,  not  far 
off. 

Soon  the  "  Bell  man"  returned  with  the  invi 
tation  for  me  to  go  with  him  to  the  "  acad 
emy." 

As  I  drew  near  the  building,  I  heard  the  presi 
dent  of  the  "club,"  announce  my  presence  and  my 
willingness  to  speak. 

It  was  too  late  to  recede. 

The  throng  consisted  principally  of  strangers  to 
me,  but  those  who  knew  rue  acknowledged  the  ac 
quaintance.  I  could  easily  tell  every  Brecken- 
ridger  present  from  the  expression  of  malignant 
hate,  or  sinister  triumph,  which  sat  on  the  counte 
nance  of  each.  By  my  own  party  and  by  the 
Douglas  men,  I  was  received  with  the  most 
marked  consideration.  A  few  moments  more, 
and  I  found  myself  facing  the  crowd  and  ejaculat 
ing  "Fellow-citizens." 

I  had  already  proved  that  the  territorial  ques 
tion  was  a  mere  abstraction  to  at  least  fifteen  out 
of  sixteen  of  the  inhabitants  of  Alabama,  even  if, 
as  was  not  the  case,  the  territories  were  at  all 
fitted  by  climate  for  slavery,  and  was  deliberately 
weighing  the  Union,  with  its  countless  blessings 
to  the  poor  white  men — the  majority — the  people 
North  and  South  who  owned  no  slaves,  against 
the  paltry  selfishness  of  the  few  aristocrats  and 
their  transatlantic  allies,  who  were  about  to  pre- 


SCENE    THE    FIRST.  67 

cipitate  the  Cotton  States  into  a  bloody  revolu 
tion,  in  order  to  gratify-  an  unholy  lust  for 
power. 

Suddenly  a  man  in  the  crowd  bawled  : 

"  There  ain't  no  Union  now  !" 

The  crowd  here  commenced  shouting  "  that's 
so  !"  and,  fur  some  moments,  nothing  else  could  be 
heard. 

Waiting  patiently  until  the  storm  should  sub 
side,  I  replied  : 

"  When  that  declaration  shall  be  true — as  it 
would  never  be  if  I  could  prevent  it — no  more 
will  man  be  civilized  or  free.  The  despots  of  the 
Old  World  will  reinstate  their  empire  over  the 
New;  the  Lion  of  England  will  again  roar  in  our 
forests,  and  her  whelps  will  make  lairs  of  our  cot 
ton  fields  and  cities;  the  oppressed  of  this  country 
will  seek  asylums  in  other  climes,  and  Liberty  will 
sink  beneath  a  thousand  blows.  When  your  dec 
laration  shall  be  true,  sir,  freedom  of  speech  will 
be  but  a  name,  and,  just  in  proportion  as  the  Re 
public  shall  drift  toward  the  maelstrom  of  disso 
lution,  will  American  citizens  be  insulted,  their 
dearest  privileges  be  invaded,  and  the  right  of 
speech  be  trampled  upon  by  infuriated  mobs. 
Yes,  sir,  when  there  shall  be  no  more  Union,  the 
'  Cotton  States'  will  become  but  a  '  cotton  patch' 
of  England,  over  which  will  reign  her  '  viceroy,' 
in  the  person  of  John  C.  Breckenridge,  or  of  Wil 
liam  L.  Yancey." 

Here   the   Bell    and   Douglas   men,  who   hate 


68  THE    ALABAMA   REFUGEE. 

Yancey,  as  the  author  of  all  the  trouble,  com 
menced  a  vociferous  applause. 

The  president  of  the  "  Breckenridge  Club"  here 
remarked  : 

"  Mr.  Tharin,  you  have  gone  off  in  circum 
gyrations  of  eloquence ;  but  you  have  not  yet  told 
us  the  remedy  for  Southern  wrongs.  Will  you  be 
pleased,  as  you  are  a  native  of  Charleston,  South 
Carolina,  to  tell  us  what  you  think  ought  to  be 
done  by  the  South." 

"  With  pleasure,  sir.  '  The  South,'  however,  is 
rather  a  general  term,  and  includes  a  great  many 
elements.  You,  sir,  have,  probably,  one  idea  of 
the  meaning  of  '  the  South,'  and  /  have,  probably, 
another.  I  will  proceed  to  define  the  term  'South,' 
according  to  the  idea  which  I  have  received  of  it : 

"  'The  South,'  when  applied  to  the  slaveholding 
section  of  the  United  States,  signifies  six  millions 
of  wrhite  and  three  millions  of  black  inhabitants, 
by  the  census  of  1850.  The  blacks  are  divided 
into  'field-hands,  house-servants,  and  mechanics.'' 
The  whites  are  divided  into  slave-owners  and  non- 
slave-owners  ;  the  slave-owners  or  cotton-planters 
are  divided  into  lawyers,  doctors,  and  office-hold 
ers  ;  and  the  non-slave-owners  are  divided  into 
'  field-hands'  and  mechanics,  with  here  and  there 
a  professional  man  snubbed  by  the  planters  and 
neglected  by  his  own  class. 

"According  to  the  last  census  (1850),  which,  be 
ing  compiled  by  a  native  of  Charleston,  who  is  a 
resident  of  New  Orleans,  J.  B.  D.  De  Bow,  is  to 


SCENE    THE    FIKST.  69 

be  relied  on  by  us  as  containing  nothing  adverse 
to  Southern  taste,  and  which  I  now  hold  in  my 
hand,  the  whole  population  of  the  United  States 
was  in  1850,  about  twenty-three  millions  and  fifty- 
eight  thousand,  of  wjiom  nine  millions  six  hundred 
and  twelve  thousand,  nine  hundred  and  seventy- 
nine  are  in  the  South ;  by  the  same  statist  the  num 
ber  of  slave-owners  in  the  whole  South  (and  else 
where  in  the  Union)  is  three  hundred  and  forty- 
seven  thousand,  live  hundred  and  twenty -live, 
wrhile  the  balance  of  the  white  population  in  the 
South  is  six  millions  one  hundred  and  eighty-four 
thousand,  four  hundred  and  seventy-seven.  We 
will  suppose  that  the  whole  increase  of  the  white 
population  of  the  South  is  confined  to  the  slave 
owners,  in  order  to  make  the  latter  attain  the 
number  of  five  hundred  thousand,  or  half  a  mil 
lion,  and  suppoxiny  the  non-slaveholders  to  have 
increased  nothing,  we  have  them  still  numbering 
over  six  millions. 

"Tims  I  have  proved,  from  the  admission  of 
a  native  of  Charleston,  a  resident  of  New  Orleans, 
a  graduate  of  the  same  college,  and  a  member  of 
the  same  literary  society  (the  Cliosophic)  as  my 
self,  that  the  non-slaveholders  of  the  South  are  at 
least  twelve  times  as  numerous  as  the  slaveholders. 
If  we  take  Alabama  herself,  we  will  eee  that  there 
are  over  fourteen  persons  who  have  no  negroes  to 
one  who  docs  own  them.  In  this  county,  I  ven 
ture  to  say,  that  there  are  at  least  thirty  non-slave 
holders  to  one  slaveholder. 


70  THE    ALABAMA    REFUGEE. 

"Taking  the  census  of  Alabama,  we  find  that 
there  are,  in  Alabama,  only  thirty  thousand  slave 
holders  ;  that  is  to  say,  about  the  population  of 
Mobile.  The  white  population  of  Alabama  is  put 
down  at  over  four  hundred  thousand ;  this  makes 
the  non-slave-owners  fourteen  times  as  numerous 
as  the  slave-owners. 

"  If  Alabama  be  divided  into  fifteen  cities,  about 
the  size  of  Mobile,  the  non-slave-owners  will  have 
fourteen  of  them,  the  slave-owners  only  one  !  In 
my  native  South  Carolina  the  proportion  is  even 
more  marked. 

"  Now,  we  begin  to  understand  what  the  term 
SOUTH  means,  as  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  South ; 
but  we  have  not  yet  fully  defined  it.  The  South 
consists  of  fifteen  States,  the  smallest  of  which 
contains  an  area  equal  to  all  Greece.  Without 
particularizing,  I  will  come  right  down  to  our  own 
dear  Alabama,  wThose  wonderful  wealth,  not  yet 
half  realized,  or  even  understood,  is  destined  to 
make  her  the  great  emporium  of  the  Gulf  of  Mex 
ico,  and  whose  central  railroad,  just  under  way, 
will,  when  completed,  give  her  an  opportunity  to 
dispose  of  the  vast  beds  of  iron  and  of  copper,  of 
gold  and  of  coal,  which  enrich  her  subterranean 
recesses.  (Applause.)  On  my  way  hither,  a  dis 
tance  of  only  twelve  miles,  I  beheld  the  evidences 
of  mineral  wealth  scattered  all  around  me.  We 
have  all  the  facilities,  also,  for  the  culture  of  the 
grape;  our  streams  are  remarkable,  even  on  this 
continent  of  great  rivers,  for  their  number,  navi- 


SCENE    THE    FIRST.  71 

gability,  and  water-power;  our  vine-bearing  hill 
sides  gusli  out  iii  medicinal  springs  ;  our  '  valleys 
also  stand  so  thick  with  corn  that  they  laugh  and 
sing.'  Yes,  my  Alabamians,  our  State  is  the  rich 
est,  our  rivers  the  grandest,  our  land  the  greenest, 
our  skies  the  brightest,  our  climate  the  sweetest, 
our  girls  the  loveliest,  our  boys  the  bravest  in  the 
world — (prolonged  applause) — and  our  non-slave- 
holding  population  who  constitute  the  people  of 
Alabama,  irrestrainable  in  the  sublime  uplieavings 
of  our  volcanic  patriotism — ever  ready  to  avenge 
even  &  fancied  insult  from  a  non-resident  majority 
— (wild  and  vociferous  applause) — will  not  always 
ornit  to  aim  a  crushing  blow  at  the  head  of  that 
Heecy  usurper  who  now  looms  up  iti  our  very 
midst  to  crush  us  into  the  dust!"- 

Ilere  a  commotion  sprang  up  in  the  furthest  end 
of  the  u  academy"  between  two  persons  : 

" He  shall  speak!" 

"  He  shan't !  I'll  kill  him  !  he  lies  !  That  ain't 
the  way  for  a  Southerner  to  speak !" 

"Mister!"  I  exclaimed,  "can't  you  wait  until 
Fm  through,  before  you  begin  ?" 

Amid  great  laughter  the  "president"  arose,  his 
lips  quivering  writh  fury,  and  demanded : 

"  How  much  more  steam  have  you  got  on  board  ?" 

"  Enough  to  burst  your  boiler  and  leave  it  as 
empty  as  your  head  !" 

The  storm  of  derisive  laughter  which  ensued 
was  very  gratifying  to  the  speaker,  but  not  very 
pleasing  to  my  interrupter,  who  sat  down  so  sud- 


2  THE   ALABAMA   REFUGEE. 

denly  as  to  add  a  new  element  to  the  already  vo 
ciferous  mirth. 

When  order  was  restored,  I  proceeded  thus : 
"  I  was  saying,  when  so  harmlessly  interrupted 
(laughter)  that  the  people  of  Alabama  are  too 
brave  even  to  permit  the  appearance  of  an  insult 
from  a  non-resident  majority  (applause).  Would 
to  God,  J  could  say  as  much  for  them  in  their  in 
tercourse  with  that  resident  minority  who,  enjoy 
ing  all  the  offices  of  profit  or  of  trust,  dominate 
over  them  with  an  iron  hand  !  (Great  confusion 
and  voices,  which  I  did  not  stop  for.)  Would  to 
God  that  I  could  say  cotton  was  discrowned !" 

Of  course,  I  was  here  interrupted.  The  sixteen 
Unionists  seemed  completely  nowhere  in  the  row 
that  ensued ;  they  hung  their  heads  in  shame,  as 
much  as  to  say,  "  There  now !  he's  gone  and  done 
it."  In  the  midst  of  the  row,  a  man  with  a  stick 
exclaimed : 

"  Oh,  you  traitor  !  oh,  you  cuss,  you !" 
"  Traitor !  did  you  say  I  was  a  traitor,  sir  ?" 
("Yes  I  did!!!")  "That  same  word  was  used  to 
the  immortal  Patrick  Henry,  when  he  said  in  the 
Virginia  Convention,  that  George  the  Third,  who 
had'  an  ear  to  hear,  might  have  his  power  over 
thrown  in  America.  The  man  who  called  Patrick 
Henry  a  traitor  was  himself  an  infamous  tory,  and 
the  man  who  says  that  /  am  a  traitor,  when  I  de 
nounce  '  King  Cotton,'  who,  having  no  ear  to  be 
appealed  to  by  his  trampled  subjects,  is  a  greater 
tyrant  than  King  George  III.,  why,  that  man  is 


SCKNE    TIIK    FIKST.  73 

worse  even  than  a  tory.  King  George  had  some 
color  of  title  to  govern  the  colonies,  but  what  title 
has  'King  Cotton'  to  rule  Alabama,  to  mob 
Southern  men,  to  trample  '  Southern  Eights'  into 
the  dust,  and  to  send  his  emissaries  here  even  to 
interrupt  and  insult  ?/i<?,  a  Southern  man,  because  I 
call  upon  my  oppressed  countrymen  to  be  free  'I 
O  Alabama !  proud  and  glorious  Alabama !  rise 
from  the  ashes  of  thy  desolation !  declare  thy  in 
dependence  of  that  single  plant,  which,  monopo 
lizing  the  whole  surface  of  thy  soil,  shuts  up  thy 
recesses  from  the  industry  of  thy  children;  wash 
off  the  stain  of  Secession  from  thy  symmetrical 
limbs  in  tny  beautiful  streams,  and,  under  the  star- 
spangled  banner,  defy  the  Yanceys  and  the  Breck- 
enridges  to  rivet  thy  chains  forever  upon  tliee ! 

"  Would  to  God  that '  Southern  Eights'  could  be 
respected  by  Southern  men  /  that  every  possible 
facility  could  be  afforded  for  Alabama's  full  de 
velopment  ;  then  we  would  not  have  negro-equality 
forced  upon  us  by  a  resident  minority,  who  now 
perform  the  almost  entire  labor  of  the  State  with 
their  Uack  field-hands  and  mechanics,  and  thus 
make  four  hundred  thousand  slaves  drive  five  hun 
dred  thousand  freemen  from  the  culture  of  the 
soil,  from  the  work-bench,  from  the  factory,  and 
from  that  personal  equality,  without  which  '  State 
equality'  is  but  the  shadow  of  a  shade !" 

Here  several  planters  abruptly  left  the  academy 
and  gathered  under  trees  outside  of  the  building. 

u  I  was  asked  what  remedy  against  Southern 


74  THE   ALABAMA    REFUGEE. 

wrongs,  I,  as  a  South.  Carolinian,  would  advocate. 
South  Carolina,  gentlemen,  has  no  right  to  dictate 
a  policy  to  Alabama,  any  more  than  Massachu 
setts  has.  Nor  lias  Massachusetts  any  right  to 
dictate  a  policy  to  South  Carolina.  We  are  here 
as  Alabamians,  and  as  an  adopted  citizen  of  Ala 
bama,  of  which  my  wife  and  child  are  natives,  I 
answer  the  gentleman's  question  : 

"  The  best  remedy  for  '  Southern  wrongs'  is  the 
vindication  of  '  Southern  rights' — not  alone  the 
rights  to  power  and  influence  of  the  minority 
whose  cotton  and  niggers  and  plantations  protect 
their  rights  but  too  well — but  the  rights  of  the 
poor  white  man,  who  owns  no  niggers,  who  owns 
no  cotton,  who  owns  no  plantation,  but  in  whose 
veins  courses  the  same  red  stream  which  bled  on 
the  battle-fields  of  1776,  to  give  its  descendants 
the  blessings  of  freedom  and  equality.  In  order 
to  do  this  I  would 

"  1.  Let  perfect  liberty  of  speech  prevail !  Let 
no  more  mobs  prevent  me,  or  other  Southern  men, 
from  advocating  '  Southern  Rights'  as  we  under 
stand  them. 

"  2.  Let  the  majority  of  the  people  rule  their 
State  of  Alabama  in  the  Union  ;  and  let  not  a  con 
temptible  power-loving  resident  minority  '  precip 
itate  the  Cotton  States  into  a  revolution,'  which  can 
but  end  in  the  perpetual  degradation  of  the  ma 
jority.  (Applause  by  the  Bell  and  Douglas  men.) 

"  3.  Let  every  demagogue  who  preaches  dis 
union  be  avoided  as  a  madman,  and  let  King  Cot- 


SCENE    THE    FIRVr.  <  ;) 

ton  be  consigned  to  the  walks  of  private  life, 
throneless  and  crownless,  and  co-equal  with  the 
other  trees  of  the  field. 

"•i.  Let  the  niggers  le  com  fined  to  the  cotton  field, 
let  no  more  negro  blacksmiths,  and  negro  carpen 
ters,  and  negro  bricklayers,  and  negro  wheel 
wrights  be  used  to  drive  the  poor  white  man  to 
poverty  and  to  idleness,  that  root  of  all  evil. 

"Then,  and  not  till  then,  will  Alabama  be  her 
self.  Then,  and  nut  till  then,  will  the  proper 
remedy  be  applied,  as  against  Southern  wrongs. 

"You  see,  I  am  a  Southern  RiyhU  man  \\\  the 
broadest  sense.  I  interfere  with  no  man's  rights. 
I  advocate  the  rights  of  all !  Of  course,  I  am  not 
indifferent  to  my  own  blood-bought  rights.  In 
deed,  as  a  Southern  man,  I  cannot  permit  others — • 
whether  they  be  Northerners  or  Southerners — to 
invade  my  own.  When  I  was  admitted  to  prac 
tice  law  in  this  very  county,  only  fourteen  miles 
from  here,  I  recorded  an  oath.  Now,  what  was 
that  oath  ?  Was  it  to  support  King  Cotton  ?"- 

Here  an  old  gentleman,  whose  manners  had 
evinced  great  delight  at  my  whole  speech,  and 
who  had  been  my  most  constant  applauder,  said, 
with  great  glee : 

"  No,  it  wan't !"  (laughter.) 

I  continued  :  "  Was  it  to  support  John  C.  Breck- 
en  ridge  ?" 

"  No  !  siree  ! !"  (laughter.) 

"  Were  you  there,  sir?" 

"  I  wan't  nothin'  else." 


Y6  THE    ALABAMA   REFUGEE. 

"  Did  you  hear  me  take  the  oathf 

"  Yes ;  and  I  saw  you  sign  it  too  !" 

"  Was  it  to  support  William  L.  Yahcey?" 

"  Not  a  bit  of  it." 

"  "Well,  what  was  my  oath,  sir?" 

"  You  swore  to  support  the  Constitution  of 
Alabama." 

"  Was  that  all  ?" 

"  No  :  you  swore  to  support  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States." 

"  Have  I  done  so  to-day  ?" 

"  Ef  you  haint,  nobody  ever  did." 

Here  the  Bell  and  Douglas  men  commenced  to 
applaud  ;  and  even  the  Breckenridgers  seemed  to 
think  it  a  plain  case,  and  joined  the  others. 

"  Yes,  sir,  I  keep  my  oath  to-day,  yesterday, 
and  forever.  That  oath  is  registered  in  heaven  ! 
I  make  no  light  and  foolish  vows.  That  oath  I 
intend  to  keep  always,  and,  if  I  lose  all  the  tran 
quillity  and  peace  of  mind  I  possess,  that  oath 
shall  never,  at  God's  bar,  reproach  me — as  it  will 
yet  reproach  many  other  lawyers  and  officers  of 
Alabama — with  perj ury . 

"  In  conclusion  :  what  I  have  said,  I  have  said 
in  strict  accordance  with  £  SOUTHERN  EIGHTS  !'  If 
I  have  the  misfortune  to  differ  with  men  of  wealth 
and  influence,  it  shall,  at  least,  never  be  said  of 
E.  S.  Tharm  that  he  was  a/raid  to  give  a  reason 
for  the  faith  that  is  in  him. 

"  I  thank  you  for  your  attention." 

After  the  speech  was  over,  not  a  solitary  insult 


SCENE    THE    FIRST.  77 

was  leveled  at  me.  The  Bell  and  Douglas  men 
gathered  around  me  in  a  manner  which  showed 
their  intention  to  protect  my  (Southern)  rights. 
Around  my  buggy  they  arranged  themselves. 
The  president  of  the  Breckenridge  club  approach 
ed  with  a  crest-fallen  countenance. 

"  Mr.  Tharin,  I  am  sorry  I  acted  as  I  did,  sir. 
I  never  interrupted  a  speaker  before." 

"  Considering  it  was  the  Jim t  time,  you  managed 
it  very  well  for  a  new  beginner."  This  was  said 
by  a  Douglas  man,  whose  size  was  of  itself  an 
argument. 

"  If  I  only  knew  it  to  be  your  last  attempt  at 
so  unworthy  a  pastime,  I  could  not  only  forgive 
it,  but  forget  it,  sir." 

A  preacher  here  came  up  and  said  that  he  would 
like  to  discuss  the  question  on  the  stump  with  me 
at  any  time  I  should  appoint.  I  told  him  that  I 
would  leave  it  to  my  friends  to  appoint  any  time, 
and  that  I  would  be  happy  to  meet  him,  provided 
there  were  no  interruptions.  On  these  terms,  of 
course,  the  reverend  mobocrat  saw  fit  never  to 
make  arrangements. 

But  the  most  stormy  elections  must  come  to  a 
conclusion.  The  contest  ended  quite  too  soon  for 
Alabama's  interests.  Had  the  campaign  lasted 
two  months  longer,  Bell  and  Everett  would  have 
had  a  large  majority,  and  she  would  afterward 
have  refused  to  be  "  precipitated'7  into  a  foolish 
and  a  bloody  revolution. 

It  was  generally  known  that  Abraham  Lincoln 


To  THE    ALABAMA    REFUGEE. 

was  elected.  The  Secessionists  exulted  in  his  ele 
vation,  because  they  had  planned  and  now  claimed 
it  as  an  argument  in  favor  of  Secession.  Governor 
Moore,  according  to  the  programme  of  the  con 
spirators,  called  a  convention.  It  is  not  necessary 
here  to  state  that  the  convention  was  called  in 
order  to  "precipitate"  Alabama  out  of  the  Union. 
Just  on  the  eve  of  the  assembling  of  the  conven 
tion,  I  published  my  protest  against  indecent 
haste  and  the  misrepresentation  of  the  public 
opinion  of  the  State,  and  proposed  that  the  con 
vention,  wiien  convened,  should  proffer  to  Ala 
bama's  sister  States,  North  and  South,  a  National 
Convention,  for  the  purpose  of  amending  the  Con 
stitution  of  the  United  States  in  certain  important 
particulars,  unnecessary  to  be  enumerated  here. 
Previous  to  that  letter,  I  had  addressed  one, 
through  the  columns  of  the  Montgomery  Con 
federation,  to  a  Dr.  Wm.  C.  Penick,  over  my  full 
signature,  entitled  "THE  LIBERTY  OF  SPEECH,"  in 
which  it  was  proved  that  the  right  of  speech  and 
the  liberty  of  the  press  had  been  entirely  destroyed 
by  the  unparliamentary  and  unconstitutional  sur 
veillance  which  the  secret  societies  of  traitors  and 
Breckenridge  clubs  had  been  too  long  holding 
over  Union  meetings,  Union  .speeches,  and  Union 
men.  In  this  letter  was  shown  the  tendency  of 
mobocracy,  and  the  people  were  warned  against 
the  reign  of  terror,  which  ensued  so  shortly  after 
ward,  and  of  which  I  myself  was  soon  to  be 
among  the  most  persecuted  victims. 


SCKXE    THE    FIRST.  79 

When  the  election  of  delegates  to  the  Alabama 
State  Convention  was  approaching,  I  announced 
myself  the  INDEPENDENT  UNION  CANDIDATE  for  a 
seat  in  that  body,  and  would  have  been  triumph 
antly  returned  from  Coosa  county,  had  it  not  been 
for  the  contemptible  tricks  of  the  Weturnpka  branch 
of  the  Secret  "  League  of  United  Southerners,"  of 
which  the  main  society,  at  Montgomery,  was  pre 
sided  over  by  the  notorious  "Win.  L.  Yancey.* 

Finding  that  the  secret  "Committees  of  Safety,'' 
all  over  the  South,  were  too  much  for  my  unas 
sisted  efforts,  which  only  provoked  ridicule,  on 
account  of  the  isolation  of  my  opposition,  I  deter 
mined  to  organize  "  Committees  of  Safety"  for 
myself  and  for  the  non-slaveholders,  to  rescue 
whom  from  the  perpetual  serfdom  of  a  Cotton- 
Planters'  Confederacy  was  (and  is)  my  design. 
I  solemnly  devoted  myself  to  the  defence  of  trtf*' 
"  Southern  Rights."  While  I  despised  the  inso 
lent  usurpations  of  the  cotton  nobility,  I  loved, 
while  I  pitied,  the  non-slaveholding  whites,  whose 
only  hope  in  this  world  was  the  overthrow  of 
King  Cotton. 

Although  not,  by  birth  and  descent,  a  non- 
slaveholder,  I  was  one  of  them  at  the  time  I  speak 
of.  I  knew  that  never,  in  Congress,  in  State  legis 
latures,  in  conventions, — whether  political  or  com 
mercial,  State,  sectional,  or  national, — had  the  non- 


*  See  the  Slaughter  Letter,  p.  212,  in  a  note.    Mr.  Y.  argued 
for  "  Committees  of  Safety." 


SO  THE    ALABAMA   REFUGEE. 

slaveholders,  as  a  class,  Lad  any — the  slightest- 
representation.  On  the  contrary,  "by  the  aggressive 
usurpations  of  the  planters,  we  had  been  doomed 
to  a  condition,  as  a  class,  but  little,  if  any,  above 
the  negroes  themselves.  The  dominant  class,  pos 
sessing  unshared  legislative  sway,  easily  excluded 
these,  \h&  people  of  the  South,— under  the  insulting 
epithet  of  "  poor  white  trash," — from  educational 
and  social  advantages,  until  the  mere  mechanical 
operation  of  choosing  which  slaveholder,  or  cotton- 
planter,  should  w.  ^represent  us,  was  all  that  was 
left  us.  The  whole  point  is  conceded  in  the  term 
which  the  planters  used  to  describe  the  modus  of 
Secession.  "  TF0,"  wrote  Yancey  to  Dr.  Slaughter. 
""We" — the  planters  of  course — "will  precipitate 
the  Cotton  States  into  a  revolution"  This,  he  said 
was  to  be  accomplished  by  "  organizing  commit 
tees  of  safety  all  over  the  Cotton  States — firing  the 
Southern  heart,  and  giving  courage  to  each  other." 
At  first,  electing  Ijfight  to  preside  over  their  de 
liberations,  they  shrouded  themselves  in  mystery  ; 
but,  as  the  conspiracy  culminated,  after  the  con 
spirators  had  armed  themselves  with  guns,  stolen 
from  the  unsuspecting  government,  they  became 
less  reticent,  and  less  guarded,  and  the  Unionists 
found  themselves  overpowered  and  subjugated, 
even  before  many  of  them  fully  understood  the 
signs  of  the  times.  What  are  mere  numbers  with 
out  organization  and  without  arms,  where  a  small 
proportion  of  the  population,  armed,  disciplined,  or 
ganized,  and  aggressive,  hang  like  a  thunder-cloud 


SCEXE    THE    FIRST.  81 

over  the  country.  "  Southern  Rights''  were  men 
aced  then,  from  within.  A  resident  minority  had 
obtained  the  mastery.  The  indolence  of  unprepared- 
ness  weighed  down  the  feeble  knees  of  the  multitude1, 
and  the  only  way  to  help  ourselves,  was  to  organ 
ize,  as  our  enemies  had  done,  in  secret.  But  I  was 
not  destined  to  succeed,  at  that  time,  with  my 
righteous  undertaking.  "Whether  I  shall  ercr  suc 
ceed  in  organizing  my  enslaved  white  brethren  of 
Alabama  and  of  the  South  is  known  only  to  Om 
niscience  ! 

The  secret  societies  commenced,  at  length,  to 
show  their  transparencies  in  Wetnmpka.  Hag- 
gerty  Hall  began  to  be  illuminated  at  a  very  late 
hour,  and  as  the  conspirators  became  less  secret, 
resounded  with  the  tread  of  armed  military  com 
panies.  The  next  move  was  to  "  enlist"  outsiders  "  to 
meet  the  invading  hosts  of  the  damned  Abolition 
ists!"  Xo  means  were  neglected  to  ''fire  the  South 
ern  heart.''  Tales  of  insurrectionary  plots  were 
bruited  about  the  country,  and  the  most  ridiculous 
alarm  created  in  unsuspecting  bosoms.  Then 
came  those  terrible  associations, — the  inevitable 
outgrowth  of  all  mobocracies, — associations  of  pro 
scription  !  The  vigilance  committee,  the  "  com 
mittee  of  safety,"  and  the  Breckenridge  club,*  by 
an  almost  imperceptible  transition,  degenerated 
into  the  Jacobin  clubs  of  a  new  "  reign  of  terror," 


*  The  Breckenridge  club  in  Alabama  was  not,  of  course,  the 
same  kind  of  club  as  the  Breekenvido-e  club  XortJi. 


82  THE    ALABAMA    REFUGEE. 

in  which  he  who  would  not  insult  the  American 
flag,  was  considered  amenable  to  the  mob,  which 
wras  incited  to  its  brutal  acts  by  the  diabolical 
leaders  of  the  secret  associations.  In  every  com 
munity  sprung  up  some  Robespierre, — some  scent- 
er  of  human  blood  ;  and  to  be  suspected  of  Lin- 
colnism — their  new  name  of  Unionism — was  to 
suffer, — generally  to  die!  How  lamentable  for 
the  sacred  cause  of  the  Union  that  Mr.  Lincoln 
should  have  intensified  this  feeling  and  weakened 
our  hopes ! 

All  this  time  my  secret  league  of  Union  men 
wras  slow- ly  finding  its  way  to  the  few ;  but  I  was 
alarmed  at  the  thought  that  I  had  commenced  too 
late.  Still  I  persevered  ;  but  such  was  the  jealousy 
with  which  the  villagers  regarded  my  movements, 
that  I  wras  reduced  to  temporary  inaction. 

Every  now  and  then,  by  way  of  inspiring  a 
wrholesome  terror  in  the  minds  of  Unionists,  the 
Breckenridge  club  of  Wetumpka  would  denounce 
and  mob  some  defenseless  person.  The  victim  of 
this  persecution,  who  did  not  immediately  recant, 
was  tarred  and  feathered,  hanged,  shot,  or  acci 
dentally  committed  suicide.  The  club  denounced 
a  poor  illiterate  jeweler,  "William  S.  Middlebrooks, 
whose  only  alleged  offence  was  "  being  a  Lincoln- 
ite!"  The  modus  opcmndi  would,  doubtless,  be 
not  uninteresting. 


SCENE  THE  SECOND. 


"  SOUTHERN  RIGHTS." 

"  To  bear  affronts  too  great  to  be  forgiven, 
And  not  have  power  to  punish !" 

ON  the  eastern  bank  of  the  Coosa  river  (a  trib 
utary  of  the  Alabama),  where  it  flows  through 
the  village  of  AVetumpka,  stands  a  small  square 
brick  building,  containing  but  two  apartments, 
and  dignified  by  the  euphonious  appellation  of 
the  "  Calaboose."  Herein  are  incarcerated  incor 
rigible  negroes,  or  belligerent  countrymen,  who 
become  riotous  over  the  fruits  of  their  exchanges 
with  the  stores,  which  barter  for  raw  produce  or 
sell  for  cash  the  calicoes,  shoes,  hats,  or  whisky, 
desired  by  their  customers. 

On  a  stormy  night,  whose  impenetrable  dark 
ness  afforded  an  appropriate  vail  for  the  deed  of 
rascality  about  to  be  perpetrated,  a  low-lived 
white  man,  Bob  Clark,  sneaked  up  to  the  only 
window  of  the  calaboose,  and,  putting  his  lips  to 
the  grating,  whispered — 

"Sam!" 

Xo  answer  being  elicited,  the  monosyllable  was 
repeated  in  louder  and  louder  tones,  until,  from 


84  THE    ALABAMA    REFUGEE. 

the  floor,  a  sleepy  grunt,  well  perfumed  with  bad 
whisky,  was  emitted  in  a  guttural 

"Who  dat?" 

"  Hush  !  Listen  !  Can  you  tell  me,  Sam,  who 
would  be  a  good  person  to  leave  some  Lincoln- 
powder  with  ?" 

"  Wha'  sort  o'  powder  dat  ?" 

"  Lincoln-powder — powder  to  shoot  white  men 
with  and  make  niggers  free  !"  * 

"  "Who  be  you  ?  Wha'  fur  you  gwine  do  dat 
ting  ?  You  better  take  care  ob  youself,  talkin' 
sich  tings  to  niggers  ?  Who  you  be  ?" 

"  Never  mind,  Sam,  I'm  a  friend.  Do  you 
think,  Sam,  that  William  S.  Middlebrooks  would 
be  a  safe  man  to  leave  some  with  ?" 

"  What  I  know  'bout  it  ?  Lef  dis  nigger  'lone ! 
Dono  nuffin  'bout  it,  'tall.  S'pose  Mr.  Middle- 
brooks  would  do  'bout  as  well  as  me.  Yah,  yah, 
yah  !" 

This  was  all  that  was  necessary  to  fasten  suspi 
cion  upon  poor  Middlebrooks.  I  am  glad  I  am 
not  master  of  invective  strong  enough  to  charac 
terize  adequately  the  perpetrator  of  such  an  act. 

The  next  morning,  as  I  was  returning  to  my 
law-office,  I  saw  consternation  written  upon  the 
faces  of  almost  all  the  people  I  met.  Caution  had 
already  become  necessary  in  all  Union  men,  and 
conversation  between  them  was,  by  tacit  consent, 
waived  in  the  presence  or  hearing  of  Disunionists. 


*  Alas,  how  proplietic  were  those  words  of  a  traitor ! 


SCENE   THE   SECOND.  85 

Besides  this,  the  pieces  I  had  published  in  the 
Montgomery  Confederation,  over  my  own  signa 
ture,  had  rendered  me  an  object  of  ill-disguised 
hatred  to  the  partisan  disunion  demagogues  of  the 
town.  It  was,  therefore,  getting  more  and  more 
unfashionable  to  be  seen  in  my  company,  unless 
on  business.  But  although  on  that  morning  no 
word  wTas  spoken  by  them,  the  faces  of  my 
friends  were  full  of  communications,  and  their 
eyes  seemed  to  appeal  to  mine  to  know  what 
ought  to  be  done. 

That  some  "  Secession  devilment"  had  been 
perpetrated,  and  that,  too,  of  a  bolder  and  more 
tyrannical  character  than  usual,  even  in  that  lati 
tude,  was  too  evident  to  be  doubted. 

'Not  many  minutes  elapsed  after  my  arrival  at 
my  office  before  a  timid  knock  was  heard  at  the 
door.  It  opens,  and  a  friend,  whose  present  and 
future  safety  render  it  improper  to  mention  his 
name,  entered,  with— 

"  Have  you  heard  the  news  ?" 

"  !N"o  ;  but  I  perceive  there  must  be  something 
startling  by  the  manners  of  the  people.  What's 
up  now  ?" 

"  Promise  me  that,  for  your  own  safety  and  the 
safety  of  the  cause,  you  will  not  acquiesce  in  the 
request  I  promised  to  bear  you  !" 

"  If  I  view  acquiescence  dangerous  to  myself 
and  to  the  cause  of  the  Union,  I  will  refuse  it." 

u  Good  !  Then  I  will  proceed  to  tell  you  some 
thing  startling.  As  I  was  passing  over  the 
8 


8G  THE    ALABAMA    REFUGEE. 

bridge,  a  sound  of  terror  filled  my  ears,  while  ap 
peared,  at  the  other  end  of  the  structure,  a  packed 
mass  of  howling  humanity.  From  the  center  of 
the  crowd  towered  the  gleaming  bayonets  of  the 
Wetumpka  Light  Guard.  Upon  their  nearer  ap 
proach,  I  perceived  in  their  midst  a  white  man 
bound  between  two  neyroes,  the  three  dragged  along 
as  prisoners  in  the  hands  of  their  unauthorized 
captors.  He  was  borne  to  the  Wetumpka  Bastile 
(Haggerty  Hall),  where  he  is  now  confined.  I 
soon  met  his  frantic  wife,  who  was  following  the 
maltreaters  of  her  husband.  I  asked  her  what 
was  the  matter,  when,  collecting  her  scattered 
senses,  she  turned  to  me  with  a  look  i  shall  never 
forget,  and  said  that  she  was  on  her  way  to  your 
office,  in  order  to  get  you  to  sue  out  the  proper 
writ,  and  requested  me  to  entreat  you  to  befriend 
her  husband." 

"  Certainly  I  will.     Who  is  the  prisoner?" 

"  William  S.  Middlebrooks." 

"What!  the  jeweler?" 

"Yes." 

"What's  the  charge?" 

"  L-i-n-c-o-l-n-i-s-m !" 

"Whops  that?" 

"Don't  know.  Some  pretext  of  the  secret  asso 
ciation." 

"  Why  Middlebrooks  is  a  Douglas  democrat!" 

"  True ;  but  his  enemies  are  numerous,  l^ou 
know  his  business  improves  lately,  while  the  busi 
ness  of  McKonichy,  the  Secessionist,  diminishes. 


SCENE    THE   SECOND.  87 

It  is  mighty  easy,  it  seems,  for  these  disunion 
devils  to  break  up  any  man,  these  days !" 

"  This  is  outrageous  !  I  can't  see  how  the  safe 
ty  of  the  Union,  or  even  my  oicn,  can  be  affected, 
by  my  befriending  this  injured  American  cit 
izen  f ' 

"  Your  enemies  are  even  more  numerous  and 
more  vindictive  than  /m'  enemies.  You  would 
sooner  or  later  be  mobbed,  or  assassinated  ;  besides 
they  will  call  you  an  Abolitionist,  and  thus  your 
usefulness  and  your  day*  will  be  brought  to  a  si 
multaneous  close." 

"  .But  have  I  not  in  open  court,  when  admitted 
to  practice  law  in  Alabama,  taken  and  recorded  a 
solemn  oath  to  support  the  Constitutions  of  the 
United  States  and  of  the  State  of  Alabama,  both 
of  which  have  been  palpably  violated  this  very 
morning?  Did  I  not,  at  the  same  time,  swear 
'never,  for  considerations  personal  to  myself,  to 
neglect  the  cause  of  the  defenseless  and  oppress 
ed.'*  Is  not  poor  Middlebrooks  '  defenseless  and 
oppressed  ? 

u  When  Luther  was  informed  that  his  enemies 
were  numerous  in  Worms,  and  that  he  had  better 
not  go  thither,  he  exclaimed:  'Were  there  in 
Worms,  as  many  devils  as  there  are  tiles  upon  the 
housetops,  I  will  enter  the  city  !'  This  is  not  the 
first  time  that  I  have  risked,  and  even  sacrificed, 
popularity,  for  the  maintenance  of  the  non-slave- 


*  Section  732,  Code  of  Alabama. 


88  THE    ALABAMA   BKFUGEE. 

holder's  rights,  and  I'll  take  this  case,  if  I  die  for 
it!" 

"  I  was  afraid  you  would !  You  are  imprudent 
—but  you  are  'right  /" 

The  resolution  once  taken,  I  proceeded  to  ar 
range  my  plans. 

The  danger  of  the  course  determined  on  was, 
by  no  means,  inconsiderable.  It  was,  in  the  ex 
citement  of  the  hour,  suicide  to  make  known  my 
determination. 

But  a  thought  suggested  itself  to  my  mind, 
which  was  acted  upon  with  promptness.  I  peti 
tioned  the  governor  to  command  the  "Wetumpka 
Light  Guard  "  to  protect  myself  and  client  during 
the  prosecution  of  the  cases  about  to  be  com 
menced. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  the  Governor  of 
Alabama,  Andrew  B.  Moore,  had  recorded  an 
oath  to  support  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States  and  of  the  State,  respectively,  and  that  he 
had  also  sworn  "  to  see  that  the  laws  \>e  faithfully 
executed." 

While  awaiting  an  answer  from  the  capitol, 
only  fourteen  miles  off,  still  another  outrage  was 
.committed,  of,  if  any  thing,  a  baser  character  than 
the  first. 

Some  youths,  considering  themselves  as  much 
authorized  to  depredate  as  their  mobocratic  seniors, 
visited  the  abode  of  the  imprisoned  Middlebrooks, 
tore  down  his  fences,  insulted  his  wife,  and  would 
have  proceeded  further ;  but  the  heroic  woman 


SCENE   THE   SECOND.  89 

0-ave  them  to  understand  that  she  could  and  would 

O 

shoot,  when  the  terrified  young  rebels — especially 
Will  tarn  Me  Williams — evacuated! 

It  was  determined  to  include  these  also  in  the 
suits  at  law  which  were  preparing. 

It  being  next  to  impossible  to  get  a  "summons 
and  complaint"  through  the  post-office,  on  account 
of  the  censorship  of  the  mails,  which  was  a  part  of 
the  Secession  system,  it  was  found  necessary  to 
<ret  the  documents  to  the  clerk  of  court  through 

o  c 

another  channel. 

Let  me  here  intimate  that  Middlebrooks  was 
discharged  on  the  morning  of  the  third  day  of  his 
imprisonment.  The  consequence  was  that  the 
writ  of  Jtabeas  co/yiux  which  had  been  commenced 
was  never  sent  to  the  proper  officer.  In  the  State 
of  Alabama  this  is  the  judge  of  probate  of  the 
county.  lie  resided  at  Rockford,  twenty-six  miles 
of  a  difficult  mountain  road  from  Wetumpka. 

"  Had  a  whit<>  man,"  so  decided  the  vigilance 
committee  of  Wetumpka,  "said  what  Sam,  the 
negro,  said  concerning  Middlebrooks,  the  latter 
would  have  been  liancjfd ;  but,  for  want  of  ir/iif<>. 
testimony,  he  is  discharged.''  This  was  not  very 
complimentary  to  Bob  Clark,  but  shows  how  easy 
it  becomes  for  usurpers  to  dominate  over  Southern 
Eights ! 

The  answer  of  the  governor  now  arrived.     Xo 
letter,  no  message  to  his  legal  correspondent,  but 
an  order  to  the  Wetumpka  Light  Guard  to  pro 
ceed  at  once  to  Pensacola,  via  Montgomery. 
8* 


90  THE    ALABAMA    REFUGEE. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  my  letter  to  Gov. 
Moore  was  used  by  that  perjured  traitor  for  my 
destruction  instead  of  for  my  protection.  Xot 
only  was  his  withdrawal  of  the  Wetumpka  Light 
Guard  evidently  so  intended,  but  it  is  not  at  all 
unlikely  that  the  forsworn  governor  set  his  spies 
and  assassins  on  my  path,  because  my  intentions 
toward  Middlebrooks  showed  my  devotion  to  the 
poor  white  people  whom  his  excellency  despised 
and  aided  to  oppress. 

Poor  Middlebrooks,  although  no  longer  held 
"in  durance  vile,"  was  compelled  to  languish 
under  the  law  of  public  odium  and  disgrace,  after 
disgrace  was  heaped  upon  him,  on  account  of  a 
mere  captious  suspicion.  By  an  almost  unani 
mous  vote,  he  was  expelled  from  the  military  com 
pany  and  left  in  the  most  humiliating  condition. 
This  is  always  the  case  witli  the  victim  of  unau 
thorized  power.  What  redress  has  any  man, 
North  or  South,  who  is  falsely  arrested  or  im 
prisoned  by  ruffians  and  traitors  ? 

True  to  my  oath  "  to  support  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States,  and  the  Constitution  of  Ala 
bama,  and  never,  for  considerations  personal  to 
myself,  to  neglect  the  cause  of  the  defenseless  and 
oppressed"  I  had  already  prepared,  in  duplicate, 
the  "  summons  and  complaint,"  which  Alabama, 
in  her  Code,  has  made  and  provided  as  the  only 
legal  commencement  of  civil  and  criminal  actions. 
"False  imprisonment"  was,  of  course,  the  main 
charge  alleged,  and  the  defendants  consisted  of  the 


SCENE   THE   SECOND.  91 

most  influential  and  wealthy  of  the  planters  of  the 
community. 

There  was  a  double  danger  attendant  upon  mail 
ing  the  summons  and  complaint  in  AVetumpka. 
First,  it  would  probably  be  ransacked  at  the  post- 
office  and  withheld  from  the  mail ;  and,  next,  my 
own  danger  would  be,  by  no  means,  trifling. 

My  mother  was,  at  the  time,  on  a  visit  from 
my  native  Charleston,  S.  C.,  to  "Wetumpka.  On 
her  return  toward  Charleston,  she  was  to  stop 
a  few  days,  on  a  visit  to  her  brother-in-law's  fam 
ily,  at  Collirene,  Lowndes  county,  Alabama,  and 
I  determined  to  fulfill  a  long  standing  promise,  and 
visit  my  relations  in  her  company. 

When  I  embraced  my  wife  and  little  daughter 
at  Wetumpka,  a  shadow  fell  upon  my  spirit — a 
shadow  from  that  stormy  interim,  that  was  to  in 
tervene  between  that  parting  and  our  next  meet 
ing. 

Little  did  either  of  us  think  the  time  was  so 
near.  Three  or  four  months  from  that  parting, 
the  husband  and  wife,  and  their  two  children,  met 
at  Cincinnati,  which  neither  of  them  had  ever 
seen  before. 

How  appropriate  it  is  that  a  loyal  husband 
should  enjoy  the  society  of  a  loyal  wife  !  The 
former  risks  his  life  fur  the  Union — the  latter 
leaves  her  mother  and  her  childhood  scenes,  her 
brothers  pressed  into  the  Southern  army,  the  re 
mains  of  her  sacred  dead,  and  cleaveth  unto  her 
husband. 


92  THE    ALABAMA    REFUGEE. 

The  reflections  which  passed  through  my  mind, 
as  I  sat  with  my  mother  in  the  cabin  of  the 
steamer,  which  was  "  coughing  down  the  river" 
in  the  manner  peculiar  to  river-craft,  were  of  a 
varied  character.  About  three  years  before  that 
night,  I  had  alighted  from  the  stage  at  the  "  Coosa 
Hall,"  a  stranger  to  the  ways  of  Alabama.  Full 
of  that  high-toned  feeling  which  I  then  denomi 
nated  "  Southern  chivalry,"  I  had  entered  upon 
my  duties  as  a  teacher  with  a  high  regard  for  the 
nobleness  of  the  profession,  and  not  without  a 
secret  delight  at  the  feeling  of  having  "all  the 
world  before  me,  where  to  choose."  For  many 
months  after  I  had  arrived  in  Wetumpka,  my 
popularity  had  increased.  The  young  of  both 
sexes  had  courted  my  society.  The  old  had  com 
mended  and  caressed  me.  In  the  parlors  of  the 
citizens  I  wras  ever  a  welcome  guest.  My  friends 
were  everywhere,  and  my  enemies  nowhere. 
Among  the  beautiful  daughters  of  the  village  I 
found  a  paradise  of  innocent  recreation.  I  did 
not  think  to  proclaim  to  all  the  world  that  I 
owned  no  cotton ;  for  in  the  innocence  of  my 
heart  I  supposed  they  all  knew  it  sufficiently  well. 
But  I  wras,  unknown  to  myself,  floating  upon  a 
treacherous  stream.  The  roses  which  supported 
my  reclining  limbs  were  all  artificial.  Let  me 
illustrate : 

.  From  the  air  of  city-life,  which  I  brought  with 
me  from  the  "  Queen  city  of  the  South,"  the  rustic 
population  of  Wetumpka  had  formed  the  idea, 


SCENE    THE    SECOND.  93 

"he  must  be  rich"  Xever  to  mortal  Lad  I  ever 
breathed  that  I  was,  or  was  not  rich.  The  idea 
had  been  burn  of  their  own  good  wishes,  or  else 
of  their  sordid  desires,  concerning  me. 

Among  the  ladies  of  Wetumpka  was  one  whom 
I  sometimes  met  in  company,  and  sometimes 
visited  at  her  cottage  home  not  far  from  the  banks 
of  the  Coosa.  The  good  sense,  the  modesty,  the 
goodness,  which  illuminated  her  life,  made  their 
impression  upon  me,  as  they  had  universally  im 
pressed  all  who  had  ever  had  the  pleasure  to  know 
her.  Graceful  and  dignified,  she  participated,  like 
some  superior  being,  in  the  gay  scenes  around  her. 
The  cup  of  pleasure,  which  others  too  eagerly,  or 
too  noisily  quaffed,  she  sipped  with  a  retiring  gen 
tleness,  which,  all  unconsciously  to  herself,  was 
the  passport  to  many  a  youthful  heart. 

From  the  gorgeous  temples  of  affluence,  and 
their  bejeweled  daughters,  I  began  to  steal  away 
to  the  cool  freshness  of  her  moonlit  piazza,  to 
listen,  with  her,  to  the  moekbird's  evening  hymn, 
and  to  a  voice  more  sweet  than  even  his,  which, 
in  all  ages  of  the  world,  has  had  its  entranced  lis 
teners.  Insensibly  to  ourselves,  our  hearts  melted 
into  one,  and  our  hands  soon  followed  the  ex 
ample.  On  the  20th  of  April,  1858,  I  led  her  to 
the  altar  a  blooming  bride,  and  never  has  she 
given  me  cause  to  regret  the  most  happy  act  of 
my  life. 

The  unostentatious  manner  in  which  we  com 
menced  our  married  life,  soon  removed  the  scales 


9tt  THE    ALABAMA    REFUGEE. 

from  the  eyes  of  those  who  had  supposed  I  "  must 
be  rich,"  and  a  most  marked  change  became  visi 
ble  in  the  little  world  of  my  wife's  native  town. 

The  true  condition  of  things  began  to  dawn 
upon  me.  We  were  non-slaveholders  !  We  had 
preferred  each  other's  society  to  the  plantations 
and  negroes,  which  it  is  almost  invariably  the 
grand  object  of  Southern  marriage  to  secure. 
Having  disdained  to  ally  myself,  by  marriage,  to 
King  Cotton,  I  was  soon  to  experience  the  "  slings 
and  arrows  of  outrageous  fortune."  Men,  who  had 
looked  up  to  me  as  their  oracle,  in  politics,  in 
literature — I  write  without  egotism,  for  to  be  their 
oracle  was  not  much,  to  be  sure — began  to  detract 
from  my  real  merits  as  much  as  they  had  once 
overrated  them.  One  of  these,  whose  unholy  am 
bition  it  was  to  "  marry  a  plantation"  and  who, 
after  many  efforts,  had  at  length  succeeded,  al 
though  his  conduct  confessed  that  it  had  an  en 
cumbrance — an  unloved  wife — was  particularly 
marked  in  his  opposition  to  myself.  His  planta 
tion,  in  one  week  after  he  obtained  it,  had  made 
him  monarch  of  all  he  surveyed.  I  shall  not  men 
tion  his  name ;  but,  if  he  ever  reads  this  book,  he 
will  recognize  his  likeness  in  this  description. 

I  never  envied  the  planters  of  Wetumpka,  or, 
indeed,  of  any  part  of  the  South.  My  dislike  to 
them  arose  from  their  contemptible  meanness, 
their  utter  disregard  to  common  decency,  their 
supercilious  arrogance,  and  their  daily  usurpa 
tions  of  powers  and  privileges  at  variance  with 


SCENE   THE   SECOND.  95 

my  rights,  and  the  rights  of  my  class.  Xo  sooner 
had  I  insulted  their  self-esteem  by  taking  the  case 
of  Franklin  Veitch,  than  business  deserted  my 
office,  and  an  odium  as  unjust  as  it  was,  at  the 
time,  inexplicable,  pursued  my  steps.  Even  some 
of  those  who  should,  by  every  tie  of  friendship 
and  of  relationship  by  marriage,  have  sustained 
my  honorable  course,  had  yielded  to  the  popular 
clamor,  and  dared  not  show  their  kindliness,  if 
they  felt  it.  But  I  had  not  married  the  whole 
family,  although  I  felt  bitterly  the  tame  syco 
phancy  which  would  pander  to  the  mob,  and 
which,  while  it  possessed  every  opportunity  to 
know  the  truth,  would,  nevertheless,  "go  with 
a  multitude  to  do  evil." 

After  all  I  had  suffered,  there  was  still  a  tie 
that  bound  me  to  A\retumpka.  It  was  the  native 
place  of  my  wife,  and  had  been  the  scene  of  some 
happy  days  to  me.  I  hoped  soon  to  return  to  it, 
to  clasp  my  family  to  my  heart.  It  was  not  with 
out  a  pang,  and  a  fearful  augury  of  evil,  that  I 
felt  myself  receding  from  its  "darkening  shores.*' 
I  raised  my  eyes.  My  mother's  sad  and  tearful 
countenance  met  my  view,  her  eyes  resting  upon 
me  with  a  commiserating  glance  that  showed  that 
she  had  read  my  thoughts.  In  silence  we  drifted 
down  the  Coosa,  both  of  us  thinking  of  the  won 
derful  changes  that  had  transpired  in  my  destiny 
since,  three  years  before,  I  had  parted  from  that 
mother  in  Charleston,  with  hope  in  my  eye  and 
elasticity  in  my  step.  We  had  not  met  once  in 


96  THE    ALABAMA    REFUGEE. 

that  three  years,  and  now,  on  her  return  home 
ward,  I  could  see  that  she  experienced  alarm  for 
the  exposures  I  was  subjected  to,  on  account  of 
my  uncompromising  Unionism.  She  had  come 
lately  from  a  city  and  from  a  State  where  Seces 
sion  had  flung  around  itself  the  folds  of  revolu 
tionary  drapery.  What  everybody  said,  she  had 
believed ;  but  what  a  different  view  she  must  have 
entertained  of  "  Southern  Eights,"  when  her  son 
had  to  go  to  another  county  to  mail  the  writ  which 
was  intended  to  vindicate  the  inborn  rights  of  an 
ill-used  Southern  man ! 

After  stopping  an  hour  at  Montgomery,  which 
was  waving,  even  then,  with  significant  flags, 
we  continued  our  voyage  until  we  arrived,  at 
about  10  P.  M.,  at  Benton,  in  Lowndes  county, 
where  we  disembarked,  and  waited  for  morning. 
The  next  day  we  started  in  a  team  drawn  by  two 
mules,  and,  sticking  about  a  half-dozen  times  in 
the  heavy  prairie  mud,  which  rose  above  the  hubs 
of  the  wheels,  by  the  help  of  levers  of  fence-rails 
we  "  pried"  ourselves  out,  and  arrived,  at  length, 
at  our  destination. 

Nature  never  made  a  lovelier  spot  than  Collirene 
Hill.  As  the  most  dramatic  event  of  my  life  took 
place  upon  this  arena,  it  may  not  be  amiss  to 
givo  the  reader  a  short  description  of  its  topog 
raphy. 

Collirene  Hill,  or  rather  hills,  must  be  conceived 
of  as  an  abrupt  elevation  on  the  Bentonward  side, 
stretching  its  summit,  in  the  shape  of  a  broad  table 


SCENE    THE   SECOND.  1)7 

of  land  for  about  a  square  mile,  in  every  direction 
around  my  uncle's  home,  except  where  a  lovely 
little  valley  nestled  behind  his  house  into  a  field 
of  several  acres  which  he  partially  cultivated. 
To  the  crest  of  the  hills,  from  the  direction  of 
Benton,  the  elevation  is  precipitous.  Several  fine 
houses  of  wood  ornament  the  flat  stretch  of  ground 
on  its  top,  and  the  acerose  pines  twinkle  their 
fronds  in  unbroken  forests  beyond  the  lowland 
plantations  which  lie  perdu  at  their  limits.  The 
blacksmith  shop  of  Doctor  Dunklin,  resounded  on 
one  side  of  the  road,  and  my  uncle's  wheelwright 
shop  was  jammed  in  a  hollow,  on  the  other.  In 
the  former,  the  Doctor,  a  cotton-planter,  of  course, 
employed  two  stalwart  black  slaves,  while  in  the 
latter  my  aged  uncle  shoved  daily  his  laborious 
plane.  Both  the  Doctor  and  the  wheelwright 
would  have  blazed  into  frenzy  had  you  told  them 
Edward  Everett  was  not  for  negro-equality.  They 
had  been  both  for  Breckenridge  in  the  last  presi 
dential  canvass,  and,  so,  they  imagined  they  were 
the  peculiar  guardians  of  "Southern  Rights." 
The  Doctor  by  "  Southern  Rights"  understood  his 
own  rights  to  employ  black  mechanics  to  the  ex 
clusion  of  his  neighbor,  the  wheelwright ;  and'the 
wheelwright,  who  had  grown  gray  at  his  work 
bench,  understood,  by  "  Southern  Rights,"  the 
right  of  Doctor  Dunklin  to  think  as  he  pleased 
and  act  as  he  pleased  in  the  premises. 

Having  mailed  the  writ  to  the  clerk  of  court  of 
Coosa  county,  and  having  addressed  a  letter  to 
i) 


98  THE    ALABAMA   REFUGEE. 

my  friend,  Hon.  Lewis  E.  Parsons,  of  Talladega,  a 
Douglas  democrat,  who  was  entreated  to  officiate, 
should  accident  prevent  the  writer  from  being 
present  at  the  trial,  I  turned  my  attention  to 
the  elements  of  which  "  Collirene  Hill"  was  com 
posed. 

The  little  community  of  Collirene,  on  account 
of  its  natural  beauty,  consisted  almost  entirely  of 
"planters."  A  few  persons  of  the  poorer  class 
existed  among  them,  but  their  numbers  were  ex 
ceedingly  small,  and  their  influence  smaller. 

The  wheelwright  shop  of  my  uncle,  Daniel  C. 
Tharin,  was  frequented  by  the  "chivalry"  of  the 
neighborhood,  who  amused  themselves  by  shoot 
ing  at  a  tall  board,  hewn  into  the  shape  of  a  man, 
and  denominated  "  Old  Abe."  This  crowd  con 
sisted  of  Col.  Itobert  Rives,  "  Professor"  Harris,* 
Dr.  Dunklin,  Dr.  Dunklin  Pierce,  and  others, 
whose  principal  occupation,  when  they  were  not 
shooting  at  "  Old  Abe,"  was  the  discussion  of  the 
relative  merits  of  Jeff.  Davis,  Bill  Yancey,  and 
Alexander  H.  Stevens.  Dr.  Dunklin  Pierce  hav 
ing  just  returned  from  witnessing  the  inauguration 
of  Davis,  at  Montgomery,  was  full,  to  bursting, 
with  enthusiasm  and  "chivalry."  Such  was  his 
delight  at  the  "  success"  of  Secession,  which,  he 
claimed,  was  insured  by  the  inauguration  of  Jeff. 
Davis,  that  he  rushed  toward  the  imperturbable 
"  Old  Abe,''  and  fired  his  navy-revolver  six 
times  in  rapid  succession,  without  a  single  ball 
coming  out  of  the  muzzle,  although  the  smothered 


SCENE    THE    SECOND.  DO 

reports  were  all  heard.  Upon  examination,  it  was 
discovered  that  the  weapon  had  burst  at  the  side. 
This  event  brought  an  expression  of  dismal  augury 
upon  the  face  of  the  crowd.  "  Old  Abe*'  seemed 
to  chuckle  inwardly  at  the  cont re-temps,  as  much 
as  to  say  :  '*  Young  man,  you  are  spared  to  die  bv 

»/  O  '    */  v 

a  /Htlhr,  not  a  lire-arm,  while  1  am  destined  to' 
outlive  this  miserable  farce/'  The  next  time  1 
heard  the  report  of  gunpowder  in  commemoration 
of  a  president's  inauguration,  was  when,  standing 
on  the  levee  of  Cincinnati,  an  exile  as  I  was,  a  few 
weeks  afterward,  I  heard  the  mighty  voices  of 
cannon  announcing  the  accession  to  the  presiden 
tial  chair  of  the  nation,  of  that  man,  who,  once  a 
conservative  patriot,  has  had  the  folly  to  yield  to 
the  pressure  of  radicalism,  and  who,  confused  by 
the  clash  of  arms,  has  forgotten  his  letter  to  Horace 
Greeley,  wherein  he  promises  that  he  u  would  save 
the  Union"  "Lincoln-powder1'  no  longer  means 
any  thing.  It  should  signify  the  u  Union  of  our 
forefathers,"  it  should  mean  that  all  who  resist 
the  restoration  of  the  American  Union,  whether! 
they  swear  by  the  Ivichmond  Examiner  or  the 
New  York  Tribune,  whatever  be  their  motive, 
must  be  classed  in  the  same  black  category  of 
treason  and  of  crime. 

The  would-be  inauguration  of  Davis  occurred 
on  the  ISth,  or  llHh  of  February,  18(51.  The 
dramatic  scene  of  my  life  was,  in  a  few  days,  to 
begin. 

I  had  next  to  combat  the  long-standing  preju- 


100  THE  ALABAMA  REFUGEE. 

dices  and  secession  proclivities  of  my  uncle.  I 
was  very  earnest  in  my  advocacy  of  my  correct 
views  of  "  Southern  Rights."  These  views  were 
and  are  defensive  of  the  white  n on  slaveholders  of 
the  South ;  first,  by  restoring  the  Union  through 
their  votes,  "by  means  of  previous  secret  organiza 
tion  ;  and  then,  by  confining  slave-labor  to  the 
cotton-fields  exclusively,  leaving  the  anvil  and  the 
work-bench,  and  the  trades  of  life  under  the  con 
trol  of  the  poor  white  population. 

The  abuse  of  the  "  peculiar  institution,"  I  ar 
gued,  had  overshadowed  and  destroyed  all  other 
institutions  of  the  country.  The  institutions  of 
free-press,  free-speech,  and  represented  taxation, 
for  which  last  the  war  of  Independence  had  been 
waged — where  were  they  ?  The  Legislature,  which 
framed  the  artful  call  for  a  Secession  Convention 
consisted  only  of  cotton-planters,  the  represent 
atives,  lond  fide,  of  cotton-planters,  and  there 
fore  of  their  "  peculiar  institution."  The  perjured 
governor  of  the  State,  himself  a  cotton-planter,  of 
course,  had  convoked  the  Legislature  and,  through 
it,  the  Convention,  for  the  avowed  supremacy  of 
"  King  Cotton."  The  election  of  delegates  to  the 
Convention  was  an  insult  to  every  man  in  Alaba 
ma  who  planted  no  cotton,  who  owned  no  slave, 
or  who  thought  he  was  a  freeman.  In  almost 
every  county  in  South  Alabama,  the  cotton- 
planters  permitted  no  one  to  be  nominated  who 
did  not  support  Secession.  In  middle  and  north 
ern  Alabama,  the  candidates  were  all  secretly 


SCENE   TiLE  -&ECt>ND.  I'Ol 

agreed  on  precipitation.  Cotton-planters  ^>Y>,  and 
cotton-planters  con.  The  people  elected  Union 
men,  as  thev  thought,  but  the  Union  men  voted 

t> 

disunion,  according  to  previous  agreement  ;  and 
the  people,  accustomed  to  be  "  sold/'  were  told 
that  the  measure  was  imperative  to  save  Alabama 
from  "invasion,"  and,  in  the  next  breath,  prom 
ised  them  that  Secession  would  be  "peaceable." 
Coosa  and  Tallapoosa  counties,  adjoining  each 
other,  sent  men  to  the  Convention,  who  denounced 
Secession  from  every  stump;  and  "  pledged  their 
counties  to  Secession,"  when  overawed  by  the  pres 
ence  of  King  Cotton.  Tom  Wats — who  "  planted 
cotton''  in  Alabama  and  Texas,  and  who,  by  es 
pousing  the  cause  of  Bell  and  Everett,  had  gained 
tremendous  power  in  Alabama — showed  why  he 
had  once  advocated  the  "  Union,  the  Constitution, 
and  the  enforcement  of  the  laws/'  Mr.  Yancey 
moved  that  the  Secession  flag  (the  State  flag  he, 
called  it)  should  be  raised,  each  day  at  certain 
hours,  from  the  dome  of  the  State  capitol.  Tom 
AVats  moved  as  an  amendment,  that  it  "  float" 
therefrom  "  forever."  My  uncle  listened  with  a 
saddened,  but  acquiescent  expression,  when  I 
proved  that  the  cotton-planters  alone  had  gotten 
up  this  revolution  and  that  they  were  preparing 
to  rivet  the  chains  which  they  had  already  thrown 
upon  the  people  of  the  State. 

These  conversations  I  purposely  held  in  the 
presence  of  some  poor  non-slaveholders,  who  loved 
the  Union,  and  who,  for  the  first  time,  had  met 


102  THE  ALABAMA  REFUGEE. 

one  of  its  friends,  who  dared  to  vindicate  it. 
Gradually  I  began  to  suggest  the  repeal  of  the 
ordinance  of  Secession  by  means  of  a  secret  so 
ciety.  A  small,  but  patriotic  association  was  the 
result,  to  which  my  uncle  declined  to  belong,  but 
which  began  to  take  form  as  an  outpost  of  that 
which  I  had  already  originated  in  Coosa  county. 
I  denominated  the  Collirene  Society,  the  "  TEUE 
SOUTHEEN  RIGHTS  CLUB." 

The  purpose  of  this  association  was  to  "fight 
fire  with  fire," — -to  band  together  all  who  con 
fessed  other  interests  than  those  of  "King  Cotton," 
and,  at  the  maturity  of  the  plan,  to  elect  a  Union 
governor,  pledged  to  call  a  convention  of  the 
people,  and,  by  the  votes  of  the  non-slaveholding 
population,  to  repeal  the  infamous  ordinance  of 
Secession,  which  had  been  passed,  as  I  have  before 
intimated,  without  the  presence  in  Convention  of 
a  single  non-slaveholder,  as  the  representative  of, 
by  far,  the  most  numerous  class  in  the  State — in 
the  United  States — in  the  world  ! 

But,  there  was  a  traitor  in  that  devoted  little 
band,  who,  owning  neither  slave  nor  cotton,  but 
willing  to  sell  his  little  soul  for  a  nigger — and  he 
could  not  but  have  been  the  gainer  in  such  a  bar 
gain — betrayed  his  birthright  for  a  mess  of  pot 
tage. 

John  Y.  Buford,  having  become  the  recipient 
of  the  Secret,  and  having  become  a  subscriber  to 
the  Non-slaveholder,  which  I  was,  in  the  fullness 
of  time,  to  have  published  in  Montgomery,  in  ad- 


SCENE   THE    SECOND.  103 

vocacy  of  the  rights'  of  the  "  poor  white  trash,'' 
impeached  me  before  the  so-called  "  LEGAL  VIGI 
LANCE  COMMITTEE  OF  COLLLRENE  BEAT,  LOWNDES 
COUNTY,  ALABAMA,"  and,  one  fine  morning,  while 
at  breakfast,  I  was  informed  that  five  gentlemen 
of  the  vigilance  committee  desired  to  see  me. 

At  that  dreadful  announcement  an  ominous 
silence  brooded  over  the  scene.  The  suspended 
fork  remained  rigid  in  mid-air  ;  the  viand,  un- 
tasted,  was  slowly  redeposited  upon  the  plate 
from  which  it  had  just  been  lifted  ;  the  distended 
eye  glanced  from  face  to  face,  only  to  grow  more 
awe-struck  from  the  view. 

AVitli  compressed  lip  and  beating  heart,  I  said  : 
"  Ask  them  to  walk  in.'' 

In  a  few  moments  the  shuffling  of  feet  in  the 

passage  and  the  movincr  of  chairs  in  an  adjoining 
ft  «> 

room  gave  token  of  the  commencement  of  an 
ordeal  from  which  an  escape  was,  at  that  period, 
an  unrecorded  phenomenon. 

On  my  way  from  one  room  to  the  other,  a 
lifetime  of  thought  passed  through  my  mind. 
My  oath — Franklin  Vcitcli,  "  defenseless  and  op 
pressed" — William  S.  Middlebrooks,  "oppressed 
and  defenseless'' — and  now  their  unperjured 
champion — all  three  of  us  seemed  clanking  our 
chains  in  a  vain  chorus  to  assail  the  ear  of  nar 
cotized  Liberty.  I  could  not  feel  my  situation  as 
keenly  as  prudence  might  require.  My  indigna 
tion  for  a  moment  overpowered  every  other  feel 
ing,  and  I  had  to  curb  my  wrath  in  order  to  enter 


104:  THE   ALABAMA    REFUGEE. 

the  room.  My  partial  success  was  increased  by 
my  mother's  hand  and  voice,  the  one  laid  on  my 
shoulder,  the  other  breathing  in  my  ear — 

"  Robert !  Robert !  for  my  sake !" 

I  entered  the  room  with  outward  composure. 
The  sub-committee,  all  strangers,  exchanged  salu 
tations  with  me,  and  a  silence  of  several  minutes 
reigned  throughout  the  apartment. 


SCENE   THE  THIRD. 


"THE  VIGILANCE    COMMITTEE." 

"What  are  fifty,  what  a  thousand  slaves, 
Matched  to  the  sinews  of  a  single  arm 
That  strikes  for  liberty'.'" — J>r<mke. 

"  MK.  THARIX,"  said  their  spokesman,  "  we  have 
"been  appointed  by  the  vigilance  committee  of  this 
heat  to  request  your  presence  hefore  them,  because 
of  certain  charges  which  have  been  laid  against 
you.  The  committee  is  now  in  session,  awaiting 
your  presence;,  at  the  Old  Academy/' 

I  repressed  an  imprudent  outburst  of  indigna 
tion,  and  then,  in  the  calmest  tones  I  could  com 
mand,  I  asked— 

"  I*y  what  authority  does  a  vigilance  committee 
summon  a  free-born  c'd'izen  of  Alabama  before 
tin  r:i  to  answer  charges,  and  so  forth  '?" 

"  By  their  own  authority!"  was  the  fierce  and 
insulting  reply. 

"  A  civil  question  deserves  a  civil  answer.  I 
am  about  to  show,  sirs,  that  your  vigilance  com 
mittee  has  no  authority  in  the  premises,  and  that 
its  members  lay  themselves  open  to  an  action  at 
law." 


10G  THE  ALABAMA  REFUGEE. 

"What  use,  Mr.  Tharin.  in  arffiiinu  this  ques- 

'  '  O  O  "1 

tion  ?  If  you  are  innocent,  you  ought  to  have  no 
objection  to  appear  before  any  tribunal." 

"That's  so!"  exclaimed  the  Hercules  of  the 
crowd,  who  sported  an  immense  white  cowhide, 
white  pants,  white  hair,  white  eyebrows,  eyelashes, 
eyes — the  incarnation  of  his  dreaded  "  king." 

"That's  so  !"  reiterated  the  others,  in  sycophan 
tic  chorus. 

"It  is  not  always  right,"  I  rejoined,  "for  inno 
cent  individuals  to  appear,  at  their  summons, 
before  every  unauthorized  tribunal.*  Innocence 
would  be  unavailing,  if  it  did  not  exempt  its  pos 
sessor  from  illegal  and  unauthorized  restraint. 
Even  guilt  is  exempt  from  illegal  arrest. 

"  Besides,  gentlemen,  I  have  taken  an  oath  to 
sustain  tJte  Constitution  of  Alabama,  which  denies 
to  you  such  powers  as  you  assume.^ 

"  Again  :  you  believe  in  '  State  sovereignty.' 
You  would  consider  any  man  worthy  of  execration 
(and  so  do  I)  who  would  deny  legitimate  State 
sovereignty.  '  State-sovereignty,'  c  State-equality' 


*  In  any  section  of  my  country,  let  me  add. 

f  "  No  person  shall  be  acc-ufnd,  arrested,  or  detained,  ex 
cept  in  cases  ascertained  by  law,  and  according  to  the  forms 
which  the  same  has  prescribed:  and  no  person  shall  be  pun 
ished  but  in  virtue  of  a  laic  established  and  promulgated  prior 
to  the  offence  and  legally  applied." — Constitution  of  Alabama, 
Art.  I.,  §  2. 

Also  :  "  No  person  shall  be  deprived,  of  life,  liberty,  or  prop- 
erty,  but  by  due  course  of  law." — Id.,  §  10. 


SCENE    THE    THIRD.  307 

— these  are  the  great  war-cries  of  the  da}'.  It  is 
the  very  foundation-stone  of  the  coining  revolution. 
Xow,  on  page  113,  Hoffman's  Chancery  Practice, 
volume  i.,  you  will  find  substantially  these  words: 
'  A  State  is  not  sovereign,  unices  she  afford  perfect 
immunity  to  all  her  citizens  against  every  species 
of  arrest,  except  by  her  own  officers  and  according 
to  her  own  laws.'  You  are,  therefore,  invited, 
gentlemen,  to  produce  your  legal  warrant,  in  the 
hands  of  a  legal  '>/#'> /',  containing  a  xjx-cijir  chary*', 
and  appointing  a  stated  day  of  public  trial,  in  the 
2>roi>t'r  p'a<-c,  and  by  a  jury  of  my  peers.*  To 
such  an  officer,  and  to  no  other,  can  1  surrender 
the  sacred  person  of  an  American  citizen,  consist 
ently  with  my  oath  to  support  the  Constitution  of 
Alabama,  consistently  with  my  convictions  of  that 
personal  equality,  which  is  not  inferior  to  even  the 
State  equality  you  boast,  or  consistently  with  that 
view  of  State  sovereignty  which  ynu  and  /  enter 
tain,  although  from  different  points  of  view. 
AVith  whatever  force,  therefore,  an  American  citi 
zen,  claiming  for  his  justification  and  protection 
the  laws  of  his  nation  and  the  laws  of  his  State, 
can  enunciate  such  a  conclusion,  I  must  decline 
your  invitation  to  answer  'charges'  before  the 
vigilance  committee,  which  you,  in  part,  repre 
sent/1 


*  "  The  right  of  trial  by  jury  shall  remain  inviolate." — 
Constitution  of  Alabama,  Art.  I.,  ^  28. 

"No  power  of  suspending;  laws  shall  be  exercised,  except 
bv  the  general  assembly  or  its  authority." — Id.,  §  15. 


108  THE  ALABAMA  REFUGEE. 

"  What  are  we  to  do,  Tharin,  with  such,  doc 
trines,  in  times  like  these  ?" 

"  The  revolutionary  period  in  every  country  is 
tlie  period  most  in  need  of  the  observance  of  con 
stitutional  law.  The  innocent  could  quite  easily 
be  made  the  victims  of  proscription,  and  even  of 
mobocratic  violence,  were  it  not  for  the  aegis  of  the 
sacred  law,  which  was  intended  to  shelter  all  per 
sons  in  times  like  these,  unless  and  until  repealed 
by  the  proper  authority.  The  laws  which  protect 
me  are  beyond  the  reach  of  your  vigilance  commit 
tee,  and  even  of  change,  being  ' forever '  excepted 
from  all  legislation  infiduro,  by  the  first  article, 
or  c  declaration  of  rights,'  as  it  is  called,  of  the 
Constitution  of  Alabama.''* 

"  Gentlemen,"  cried  their  chairman,  "  we  have 
been  commanded  to  take  this  man,  dead  or  alive, 
before  the  legal  vigilance  committee  of  Collircne 
Beat,  Lowndes  county,  Alabama :  we  have  ac 
cepted  the  commission.  Shall  we  proceed  at  once 
to  the  discharge  of  our  duties  ?" 

The  speaker  and  the  "accused"  simultaneously 
started  to  their  feet,  the  former  to  offer,  the  latter 
to  repel,  violence.  While  thus  they  stood  at  op 
posite  sides  of  the  circle  confronting  each  other, 
a  voice  struggled  up  through  a  cloud  of  cigar 


*  "  Every  thing  in  this  article  is  excepted  out  of  the  general 
powers  of  government,  and  shall  forever  remain  inviolate,  and 
all  laws  contrary  thereto  shall  be  void." — Const.  Ala.>  Art.  I., 
part  of  §  30. 


SCENE   THE    THIRD.  109 

smoke  in  the  corner,  and  "Williams,  the  irate 
chairman,  obeyed  the  injunction  : 

"  Sit  down,  gentlemen." 

The  smoker  then  continued  thus : 

"  Xo  man  can  listen  to  Mr.  Tharin  and  not  be 
impressed  with  the  fact  that  he  has  studied  this 
whole  question  better  than  we  have.  But'  only  to 
a  certain  extent,  Mr.  Tharin,  will  our  course  be 
imperative.  Have  you  any  suggestion,  through  us, 
to  make  to  the  vigilance  committee '(  If  so,  we 
can  carry  it  up,  unless  the  majority  here  dissent. 
If  the  latter,  you  must  go,  nolens  vole  us" 

The  prisoner  (for  such  evidently  I  was),  after  a 
moment's  reflection,  said  : 

u  It'  the  vigilance  committee  will  resolve  them 
selves  into  an  assemblage  of  citizens,  without  or 
ganization,  I  will  add/'cM  them  on  subjects  of  in 
terest  which  occupy  the  universal  mind." 

A  majority  of  the  sub-committee  were  found 
willing  to  carry  up  the  proposition,  and,  leaving  a 
guard  over  their  prisoner — their  prisoner  in  avowed 
defiance  of  all  law — national,  State,  and  even  CON 
FEDERATE — the  others  departed. 

Four  hours  of  keenest  suspense  elapsed,  and  the 
committee  of  live  reassembled  to  inform  the  pris 
oner  that  his  proposition  was  acceded  to  by  a  ma 
jority  of — three! 

The  uncle  of  the   accused,  who   had   formerly 

been  a  member   of  the  vigilance   committee,  and 

who  remained  present,  as   a  member,  so  long  as 

he   thought   good    might   be   eil'ected,   when    the 

10 


1  1  0  THE    ALABAMA   REFUGEE. 

small  majority  of  three  was  reported  in  favor  OT 
a  measure  which,  conscience  dictated,  ought  to 
have  received  unanimous  o/pprobation, — resigned! 

Poor  old  man  !  He  had  never  been  of  them,  al 
though  with  them. 

He  declared  himself  "  ashamed"  of  having  been, 
at  any  time,  a  member  of  so  merciless  and  un 
authorized  a  body  of  men.  He  reported  after 
ward,  that  knives  and  revolvers  were  freely  drawn 
in  the  heat  of  debate,  and  that  not  a  few  insisted 
that  the  only  balsam  for  the  wounded  dignity  of 
the  vigilance  committee,  would  be  the  uncondi 
tional  surrender  of  the  person  of  the  accused. 
Put,  by  the  most  cunning  brains  present,  it  was 
urged  that  they  did  not  know  how  large  a  party 
in  other  counties  Mr.  Thar  in  might  have;  that, 
since  he  had  appealed  to  law,  a  seeming  acqui 
escence  on  their  part  would  disarm  popular  ob 
jection  and  forestall  organized  opposition;  that  lie- 
was  an  outspoken  man,  and  would  implicate  him 
self  before  the  assembly  he  had  convoked,  by  de 
fending,  instead  of  denying  his  acts  and  opinions, 
and  that  their  future  course,  as  an  organization, 
would  be  based  upon  his  admissions  in  his  speech, 
which  were  sure  to  be  on  the  side  of  the  Union, 
and  hostile  to  the  "  Confederate  States  of  America." 

In  custody  of  his  guard  (it  is  best  to  call  things 
by  their  right  names),  in  custody  of  his  guard  the 
"  orator  of  the  day"  advanced  into  the  midst  of 
his  enemies,  saluting  the  few  whom  he  knew,  and 
compressing  under  his  arm  the  Code  of  Alabama 


SCKXE   THE    THIRD.  Ill 

and  Hoffman's  Chancery  Practice,  the  former  of 
which  contained  (contains!)  enough  to  consign  to 
the  penitentiary,  or  to  a  fine  of  one  thousand  dol 
lars,  one  or  both,  each  of  the  party  who  had  al- 
readv  invaded  his  rights  by  brininnij;  him  before 

f  O  «/  o         O 

an  unauthorized  body. 

The  eyes  of  that  crowd  of  semi-barbarians  in 
voluntarily  turned  upon  the  slight  figure,  who, 
walking  through  their  midst,  entered  the  building, 
in  and  around  which  they  were  assembled.  ^Num 
bers  were  too  much  enraged  to  enter  the  apartment ; 
but  all  l«:<ti'<l  what  followed.  The  largest  part  of 
the  crowd  was  without. 

The  glances  of  the  Unionist  traveled  around  the 
host  of  his  enemies.  The  very  large  majority  of 
youtJis,  the  general  expression  of  their  countenan 
ces,  were  unfavorable  indications.  The  building 
was  small,  the  seats  consisting  of  loose  boards 
laid  over  pine  logs,  and  at  right  angles  with 
them. 

The  horses  of  the  crowd  were  tied  by  their 
bridles  to  swinging  limbs  on  the  skirts  of  the  hill. 
Their  stolid  indifference  was  in  marked  contrast 
to  the  interest — the  excitement — of  the  human 
brutes  in  their  vicinity. 

The  day  was  lovely,  the  air  transparent,  reveal 
ing,  far  out  through  the  sentinel  pines  that  line 
the  summit  of  "  Collirene  Hill,''  one  of  the  most 
Eden-like  countries  on  the  globe.  Here  and  there, 
from  the  lovely  valley  rose  grouped  or  solitary 
hills,  embosomed  in  lields  ju.-t  losing  the  russet  of 


112  THE  ALABAMA  REFUGEE. 

winter  in  the  buds  of  early  spring.  In  that  val 
ley,  as  in  countless  others  in  that  State,  slumbered 
the  unappropriated  wealth  of  inexhaustible  mines 
and  quarries  of  almost  every  species  of  metalifer- 
ous  and  rupiferous  deposit.  Fountains  of  medi 
cinal  value  gushed  from  the  gorgeous  hill-sides — 
"vitiferi  collet — which,  at  the  proper  season, 
presented  their  luscious  clusters  to  unrealized 
vintages.  Above  them  all,  obscuring  the  purple 
sky,  towered  the  colossal,  almost  palpable  form 
of  "  King  Cotton,"  who,  monopolizing  with  des 
potic  sway  the  whole  surface  of  the  earth,  locked 
up  her  recesses  from  the  miner's  shaft,  the  geolo 
gist's  hammer ;  denouncing  all  such  "new-fangled 
notions"  as  among  the  "  encroachments  of  the 
North." 

The  Unionist  was  disagreeably  aroused  from 
his  reverie,  which  had  not  consumed  the  time 
necessary  for  this  allusion,  by  the  harsh  voice  of 
"Williams : 

"  Mr.  Tharin  is  present,"  he  announced,  "  and 
I  move  that  Dr.  Dunklin  take  the  chair." 

The  motion  was  carried,  nemine  contradicente. 

The  "object"  of  the  meeting  having  been  suc 
cinctly  stated  by  the  chairman,  at  once  the  most 
passionless,  the  most  unscrupulous,  the  most  in 
telligent,  and,  therefore,  the  most  degraded  of  that 
assembly,  "  Mr.  Tharin,  was  permitted  to  speak, 
but  to  speak  to  the  point,  without  preface  or  cir 
cumlocution." 

"  Mr.  Chairman  :  According  to  the  permission 


SCENE   THE    THIRD.  113 

of  this  assembly  I  am  here  to  speak — perhaps  to 
die  !  I  know  not  and — were  it  not  for  my  family, 
whom  God  preserve — I  care  not  which  ;  for  1 
have  lived  to  see  the  day  in  American  history 
when  whosoever  would  save  his  life — all  that 
makes  life  endurable  in  the  pursuit  of  true  happi 
ness — shall  lose  it ;  when  truth  must  be  spoken 
with  cautious  smoothness ;  when  freedom  of 
speech — once  a  right  of  American  citizens,  and 
still  theoretically  granted  all  over  the  land — must 
be  begged  as  a  boon,  is  extended  as  an  unmerited 
favor,  and  received  as  an  undeserved  privilege ; 
when  secret  associations— 

Xow  bolted  upright  an  uncouth  barbarian 
by  the  name  of  CARSON,  by  former  occupation  an 
overseer,  and  newly  promoted  by  testamentary 
benevolence  to  the  proud  position  of  a  cotton 
planter. 

"Mr.  Chairman,"  he  screamed,  "I  move  that 
Mr.  Tharin  be  required  to  make  no  such  allusions, 
but  to  defend  himself  from  charges  made  against 
him,  and  in  the  briefest  manner  possible." 

"That's  so!"  "That's  it!"  traveled  from  lip 
to  lip  around  the  room,  and  echoed  from  many  of 
the  crowd  without,  until  the  president,  rapping 
with  his  knuckles,  obtained  (what  he  called)  "  or 
der,"  and,  smiling  sarcastically,  sneered : 

"  Friends,  we  are  here  to  listen  to  a  speech  from 

the  '  orator  of  the  day'  (laughter).     One  at  a  time 

if  you  please  (laughter).     You  put  the  culprit  (!) 

on  his  guard  by  these  unseasonable  interruptions. 

10* 


THE    ALABAMA    REFUGEE. 

Besides  we — all  of  us — are  here  as  members  of  the 
vigilance  committee ;  therefore  his  polluting  and 
anti-southern  doctrines  can  demoralize  (!)  none  of 
us.  I  feel  great  curiosity  to  hear  him  through." 

"  As  I  was  saying,  sir,  when  interrupted,  I  have 
lived  to  see  secret  associations  usurp  the  functions 
of  the  outraged  law,  and  mobs  imprison  and  even 
execute  innocent  persons  without  a  trial,  judge,  or 
jury  !  Alas  !  I  have  lived  to  see  the  day— 

"  You  wouldn't  live  to  see  many  more  if  I  had 
the  will  of  you,"  growled  Carson. 

"When  all  the  dearest  privileges  and  time- 
honored  rights  of  Americans  are  practically  de 
nied  ;  when  'taxation  without  representation' 
oppresses  God's  poor,  for  the  "benefit  of  the  rich, 
in  every  State  in  this  Union,  and  the  non-slave 
holders  of  my  native  section,  although  a  very 
large  majority  of  the  population,  are  compelled 
to  pay  their  tribute  into  the  treasury  for  the  ben 
efit  of  the  cotton  planters,  who  monopolize  as, 
jure  divino,  their  own,  all  the  offices,  honors, 
and  emoluments  of  government,  in  direct  viola 
tion  of  the  very  first  section  of  the  very  first  Ar 
ticle  of  the  Constitution  of  Alabama."* 


*  "ARTICLE  I. — Declaration  of  Rights.  (Constitution  of 
Alabama.) 

"  That  the  general,  great,  and  essential  principles  of  liberty 
and  free  government  may  be  recognized  and  established,  we 
declare : 

"  SEC.  1.  That  all  freemen,  when  they  form  a  social  com 
pact,  are  equal  in  rights ;  and  that  no  man,  or  set  of  men  are 


SCENE   THE    THIRD.  115 

"All  white  men  in  Alabama,  arc  declared  unal 
terably  free  and  coital.  But,  under  the  name  of 
Secession,  a  Iteign  of  Terror  lias  already  over 
turned  the  «iual'd<j  of  white  men,  and  is  rapidly 
degrading,  below  the  level  of  the  negro,  every 
free-born  voter  who  prefers  not  Secession  before 
liis  chief  joy.  Where  now  are  demoeratical  insti 
tutions  ^  Where  now  is  the  Democratic  Party '? 
Kiven  in  twain, — powerless  to  save  the  Union,  or 
even  itself, — trampled  into  dust  and  mockery! 
On  its  ashes  Aristocracy  has  reared  a  throne, 
upon  whose  downy  summit  reclines  a  d<spot 
whom  1  am  commanded  to  obey  as  ?////  sove 
reign!  'King  Cotton'  is  his  terrible  name,  lie 
flourishes  his  bloody  sceptre  over  the  'poor  white 
trash'  who  encumber  the  soil  sacred  to  the  patent 
leathers  of  the  'patriarchs'  of  the  'peculiar  in 
stitution.'  ' 

"Why,  Dunklin,  he's  a  damned  Abolitionist,'' 
exclaimed  Carson,  who  could  not  contain  himself 
another  minute. 

"  Hush,  Carson,"  hissed  the  irate  president 
through  his  clenched  teeth,  at  the  same  time 
rolling  his  basilisk  eyes  askance  at  the  speaker. 

"If  I  speak  at  all,  Mr.  Chairman,  I  will  speak 
as  a  free  white  citizen  of  Alabama  should  speak. 
I  am  coerced  into  speaking  thus  by  my  solemn 


entitled  to  exclusive,  separate  public  emoluments  or  privi 
leges,  but  in  consideration  of  public  services." — Constitution 
of  Alabama. 


118  THE    ALABAMA    REFUGEE. 

trayed  by  your  passions,  and  the  excitements  of 
the  hour,  into  lending  yourselves  to  a  movement 
fraught  with  dangers  to  the  State,  of  which  you 
took  no  cognizance  in  the  hurry  and  turmoil  of 
the  times.  I  do  not  believe  now  that  you  will  at 
tempt  to  carry  out  any  infamous  measure  upon 
myself.  I  am  a  native  of  the  Southern  portion  of 
these  United  States  (sensation),  and  you  had  better 
beware,  if  such  be  your  intention,  lest,  in  harming 
me,  you  show  your  enmity  to  '  Southern  Rigid*? 
(sensation),  of  which  you  constitute  yourselves 
the  'peculiar'  guardians.  I  have  friends  in  Ala 
bama  and  South  Carolina  who  will  avenge  my 
fall  by  the  utter  abolition  of  the  illegal  tribunals 
which  now  burden  the  country  with  their  dia 
bolical  and  unconstitutional  oppressions,  and  who 
will  call  to  a  strict  account  the  human  instru 
mentalities  through  whom  '  King  Cotton'  conducts 
his  despotic  usurpations.  The  people  of  the  South, 
although  now  unprepared  to  see  in  me  their  best 
friend,  will  one  day  do  justice  to  my  patriotism, 
while  that  '  small  but  artful  and  enterprising  mi 
nority,'*  the  cotton  planters  of  the  South,  will 
receive  the  execrations  of  civilized  mankind  ! 


*  "All  obstructions  to  the  execution  of  the  laws,  all  combi 
nations  and  associations,  under  whatever  plausible  character, 
with  the  real  design  to  direct,  control,  counteract,  or  awe  the 
regular  deliberation  and  action  of  the  constituted  authorities, 
are  destructive  of  this  fundamental  principle  (loyalty)  and  of 
fatal  tendency.  They  serve  to  organize  faction,  to  give  it  an 
artificial  and  extraordinary  force,  to  put  in  place  of  the  dele- 


SCENE   THE   THIRD.  119 

"I  have  only  to  demand,  in  conclusion,  that, 
for  the  sake  of  public  justice,  and,  in  order  to  give 
a  citizen  his  right  of  self-justification,  you  abstain 
from  all  manifestations  of  mobocracy  toward  un 
person,  and  that  you  obtain  a  warrant  for  my  ar 
rest  from  the  proper  legal  authority,  containing 
specific  charges, — if  there  be  any,  really, — with  a 
notice  of  time  and  place  of  trial,  by  a  legally  im 
paneled  and  sworn  jury  of  my  peers. 

"This  right  1  claim,  together  with  the  right  to 
retire,  at  once,  to  my  present  abode,  unmolested 
and  undetained." 

The  "orator  of  the  day''  then  sat  down,  while  a 
deathlike  silence  pervaded  the  apartment.  His 
excited  vision  traveled  resolutely — if  not  calmly 
—over  that  throng,  noting  the  effect  of  his  re 
marks,  and  weighing  his  chances  of  escape.  No 
word  being  spoken,  he  rose,  took  his  books  from 
the  bench,  and,  taking  his  hat  in  his  hand,  looked 
toward  his  uncle,  who,  sitting  with  bent  head, 
seemed  frozen  to  apprehensive  silence.  Touch 
ing  him  upon  the  shoulder,  he  ejaculated, 
"Come!" 

As  the  two  were  proceeding  toward  the  door, 
one  of  the  banditti,  Col.  ROBERT  RIVES,  rose,  and, 
in  a  voice  almost  inarticulate  with  passion,  moved 
that  the  vigilance  committee  "  now  2:0  into  secret 


gated  will  of  the  nation  the  will  of  a  party,  often  a  small  but 
artful  and  enterprixiny  -minority  "f  the  community,"  etc. — 
Farewell  Address  of  Georye  Washington,  17tk  fccptonbcr,  179G. 


118  THE    ALABAMA    REFUGEE. 

trayed  by  your  passions,  and  the  excitements  of 
the  hour,  into  lending  yourselves  to  a  movement 
fraught  with  dangers  to  the  State,  of  wliicli  you 
took  no  cognizance  in  the  hurry  and  turmoil  of 
the  times.     I  do  not  believe  now  that  you  will  at 
tempt  to  carry  out  any  infamous  measure  upon 
myself.     I  am  a  native  of  the  Southern  portion  of 
these  United  States  (sensation),  and  you  had  better 
beware,  if  such  be  your  intention,  lest,  in  harming 
me,  you  show  your  enmity  to  '  Southern  Rights' 
(sensation),   of  which   you    constitute   yourselves 
the  'peculiar'  guardians.     I  have  friends  in  Ala 
bama  and  South   Carolina  who  will  avenge  my 
fall  by  the  utter  abolition  of  the  illegal  tribunals 
which  now  burden   the  country  with   their  dia 
bolical  and  unconstitutional  oppressions,  and  who 
will   call  to  a  strict   account   the  human   instru 
mentalities  through  whom  '  King  Cotton'  conducts 
his  despotic  usurpations.    The  people  of  the  South, 
although  now  unprepared  to  see  in  me  their  best 
friend,  will  one  day  do  justice  to  my  patriotism, 
while  that  '  small  but  artful  and  enterprising  mi 
nority,'*  the  cotton  planters   of  the   South,  will 
receive  the  execrations  of  civilized  mankind  ! 


*  "  All  obstructions  to  the  execution  of  tlie  laws,  all  combi 
nations  and  associations,  under  whatever  plausible  character, 
with  the  real  design  to  direct,  control,  counteract,  or  awe  the 
regular  deliberation  and  action  of  the  constituted  authorities, 
are  destructive  of  this  fundamental  principle  (loyalty)  and  of 
fatal  tendency.  They  serve  to  organize  faction,  to  give  it  an 
artificial  and  extraordinary  force,  to  put  in  place  of  the  dele- 


SCENE   THE   THIRD.  119 

"I  have  only  to  demand,  in  conclusion,  that, 
for  the  sake  of  public  justice,  and,  in  order  to  give 
a  citizen  his  right  of  self-justification,  you  abstain 
from  all  manifestations  of  mobocracy  toward  my 
person,  and  that  you  obtain  a  warrant  for  my  ar 
rest  from  the  proper  legal  authority,  containing 
specific  charges, — if  there  be  any,  really, — with  a 
notice  of  time  and  place  of  trial,  by  a  legally  im 
paneled  and  sworn  jury  of  my  peers. 

"This  right  1  claim,  together  with  tlie  right  to 
retire,  at  once,  to  my  present  abode,  unmolested 
and  undetained/' 

The  "orator  of  the  day''  then  sat  down,  while  a 
deathlike  silence  pervaded  the  apartment.  11  is 
excited  vision  traveled  resolutely — if  not  calmly 
— over  that  throng,  noting  the  effect  of  his  re 
marks,  and  weighing  his  chances  of  escape.  No 
word  being  spoken,  he  rose,  took  his  books  from 
the  bench,  and,  taking  his  hat  in  his  hand,  looked 
toward  his  uncle,  who,  sitting  with  bent  head, 
seemed  frozen  to  apprehensive  silence.  Touch 
ing  him  upon  the  shoulder,  he  ejaculated, 
"Come!" 

As  the  two  were  proceeding  toward  the  door, 
one  of  the  banditti,  Col.  ROBERT  KIVKS,  rose,  and, 
in  a  voice  almost  inarticulate  with  passion,  moved 
that  the  vigilance  committee  "  now  £ro  into  secret 

O  O 


gated  will  of  the  nation  the  will  of  a  party,  often  a  small  but 
artful  and  enterprising  -minority  <-,f  the  community,"  etc. — 
Farewell  Address  of  George  Washington,  17lh  ftcptoubcr,  179G. 


120  THE  ALABAMA  KEFUGEE. 

session"*  As  the  nephew,  with  his  uncle,  was 
departing,  he  heard  the  question  seconded,  put, 
and  carried.  Here  was  palpable  proof  of  decep 
tion  and  design.  The  settled  purpose  of  many  of 
them  was  traceable  in  their  tones,  which  were 
"  still  as  the  breeze,  but  dreadful  as  the  storm." 


*  This  was  contrary  to  promise,  of  course,  but  the  whole 
course  of  Rives,  from  beginning  to  end,  was  characterized  with 
a  fell  and  rabid  spirit  of  destruction.  He  was  eager  to  procure 
my  murder,  guilty  or  not  guilty.  He  had  already  made  up 
his  mind,  and  regarded  no  pledges  or  promises  whatever 


SCENE  THE  FOURTH. 


THE   MOB. 

"Ali!  can  you  bear  contempt?  the  venomed  tongue 
Of  those,  whom  ruin  pleases?  the  keen  sneer, 
The  rude  reproaches  of  the  rascal  herd, — 
"Who,  for  the  self-same  actions,  if  successful, 
Would  be  as  grossly  lavish  in  your  praise?" 

THOMPSON. 

"  They  praise  and  they  admire  they  know  not  what, 
And  know  not  whom,  but  as  one  leads  the  other; 
And  what  delight  to  be,  by  *//r//,  extolled, 
To  live  upon  their  tongues  and  be?  their  talk, 
Of  whom  to  be  dixpraixed,  iccre  no  small  praise?" 

MILTON. 

"The  good  old  rule 
SufTiceth  them,  the  simple  plan, 
That  they  should  take,  irho  Jttirc  the  pmccr, 
And  they  should  keep,  who  can." 

SCOTT. 

AT  the  door  and  front  yard  of  my  uncle's  hum 
ble  abode,  we  found  assembled  the  whole  house 
hold,  who  welcomed  us  back  with  joy.  To  their 
congratulations  Uncle  Daniel  responded  in  tones 
of  encouragement.  My  mother  wept  for  joy  upon 
my  shoulder.  My  cousins,  with  whom  "  Cousin 
Robert''  was  no  slight  favorite,  clasped  my  hands 
and  rejoiced  over  me.  In  the  vicinity  of  this 
touching  scene,  my  aunt  and  uncle  talked  in  low 


122  THE  ALABAMA  REFUGEE. 

tones,  while  Tenah,  the  mulatto  servant,  and  con 
stant  attendant  of  my  mother,  retreated  kitchen- 
ward,  muttering,  u  I  wonder  wlia'  Mass.  Robert 
been  do  to  gib  de  wite  folks  so  much  trouble." 

I  could  not  find  it  in  my  heart  to  lessen  the 
brightness  of  that  hour  by  a  single  desponding  syl 
lable;  but  the  cloud,  that  overhung  my  spirit, 
flung  its  shadow  on  my  brow.  The  magnetic  ef 
fect  of  that  secret  session  thrilled  me  with  instinc 
tive  prescience.  I  knew  my  reprieve  was  not  a 
permanent  release  ;  but  a  mere  lull  in  the  storm 
which  was  even  then  collecting  its  electricity  for 
another  and  more  formidable  outburst. 

The  next  day  was  one  of  unusual  quiet  at  Colli- 
rene.  The  male  inhabitants  were  at  a  muster  in 
Ben  ton,  where  Col.  Hives,  arrayed  in  his  military 
trappings,  I  afterward  learned,  rendered  himself 
very  conspicuous  in  his  efforts  to  get  a  mob  to 
visit  me  forthwith  ;  but  he  was  dissuaded  by  Wil 
liams  for  the  present,  as  the  culprit  (!)  had  already 
appealed  to  law.  So  they  repaired  to  a  justice  of 
the  peace,  who  to  their  excited  complaints  made 
the  following  answers  in  substance,  which  ought 
to  be  kept  in  everlasting  remembrance  as  an  evi 
dence  of  the  "  chivalry"  of  perjury  : 

1.  The  culprit  could  not  be  found  guilty  of  any 
crime  according  to  law. 

2.  Tie  had  rightly  construed  the  spirit  and  letter 
of  the  law,  which   contains  no  language  to  de- 

'  O  O 

scribe  his  acts  and  intentions,  except  to  justify 
them. 


SCENE   THE    FOURTH.  123 

3.  The  vigilance  committee,  therefore,  could  not 
act,  but  the  people  (meaning  *ome  people,  I  sup 
pose,  in  sufficient  numbers)  could  visit  him  in 
such  a  way  as  to  render  the  punishment  of  their 
acts  light  upon  each,  on  account  of.  the  responsi 
bility  of  all. 

4-.  The  justice  of  the  p'-ac<^  who  was  sworn  to 
support  the  State  law*, — being  a  Secessionist,  from 
interest,  and  by  nature  a  tiger, — after  having  ad 
mitted  that  the  laws  were  explicitly  on  the  victim's 
side,  wlcixcd  his  illegal  arrest. 

"And  Felix  willing  to  show  the  Jews  a  favor, 
left  Paul  bound.'' 

Of  all  this  I  was  at  the  time  profoundly  ignorant, 
for  I  was  in  an  agony  of  suspense  at  Collirene. 

What  to  do?  Flight  would  involve  me  in  dis 
grace,  perhaps  in  death.  Every  man's  hand  would 
be  against  me,  and  suspicion  would  gain  boldness 
from  any  apparent  unwillingness  to  sustain  legal 
measures.  Xo !  I  would  await,  in  agonized  sus 
pense,  the  trial  of  law,  which  I  had  challenged. 
This,  I  felt  apprehensive,  would  never  be  accorded. 
I  knew  the  tiger-nature  of  a  mob,  which,  disap 
pointed  of  its  prey,  crouches  immediately  for  an 
other  spring  at  the  throat  of  its  selected  victim. 
Should  the  fiendish  leaders  of  the  vigilance  com 
mittee  appeal  to  that  tiger  propensity  by  artfully 
playing  upon  their  prejudices  and  fears,  no  power 
in  law  could  *w/v?,  although  should  law-abiding 
times  be  ever  known  in  Alabama,  it  might  accnye 
me. 


124:  THE    ALABAMA    REFUGEE. 

On  the  second  day  after  the  scenes  just  recorded, 
as  I  was  endeavoring  to  soothe  my  spirit  with  a 
Look,  my  uncle,  pale  as  death,  rushed  into  the 
room,  exclaiming : 

"  Robert,  I  see  a  body  of  men  approaching  from 
the  side  of  Benton,  whose  infuriated  gestures  are 
suggestive  of  any  thing  rather  than  of  safety  to 
yourself.  They  are  on  their  way  toward  the  new 
academy,  where  many  others  are  awaiting  them." 

"Uncle  Daniel,  where  is  your  gun?" 

aln  the  back  room,  leaning  up  in  a  corner." 

"Loaded?" 

"  Loaded." 

"  Have  you  any  extra  caps  ?" 

"Yes — here  are  a  few." 

"  Uncle  Daniel,  take  your  stand  at  your  shop 
and  forbid  them  entering  your  house.  Tell  them 
there  \vill  be  bloodshed,  if  violence  be  attempted." 

"  Courage,  my  boy,  and  hope  for  the  best." 

The  ladies  were  at  the  windows  for  several  min 
utes  watching  the  signs  of  the  multitude.  Speak 
ing  their  wishes,  rather  than  their  belief,  they 
would  exclaim  excitedly  from  time  to  time  : 

THE  AUNT.*  "  Margaret,  they  are  going  away  !" 

THE  MoTHER.f  "  No,  no !  they  are  stationing 
themselves  in  the  wood  to  prevent  escape — don't 
you  see?" 


*  Mrs.  Martha  Tharin,  wife  of  Daniel  C.  Tharin. 
f  Mrs.  Margaret  E.  Tharin,  relict  of  William  C.  Tharin,  de 
ceased. 


SCENE    THE   FOURTH.  125 

THE  AUNT.  "  There  are  enough  of  them — the 
cowards !" 

THE  MOTHER.  "  O  my  God !  save  my  poor 
boy !" 

THAT  PRAYER  AVAR  HEARD  ! 

"Take  heart,  mother — let  me  know  when  they 
are  coming,"  I  said,  and  stationed  myself  in  a 
corner,  gun  in  hand,  in  terrible  expectation.  Xor 

had   I  Ion0"  to   wait.      A    "  committee"1  of  about 

o 

twenty-jive  was  dispatched  to  '-bring  the  culprit, 
dead  or  alive,  into  the;  presence  of  the  mob. 

A  shriek  from  the  women  and  children,  and  a 
tumult  without,  drew  me  toward  a  chink  between 
the  logs,  whence,  nnperceived,  I  peeped  out  upon 
a  wild  and  exciting  scene. 

Right  in  their  path  stood  my  uncle,  who  warned 
the  liends  against  approaching  his  premises  with 
violent  intent,  as  there  would,  in  such  a  case,  be 
bloodshed.  1'rnt  on.  on  they  swept,  brandishing 
their  revolvers  and  unsheathed  knives,  swearing 
windv,  but  not  meaningless  oaths,  as  to  their  de 
termination  to  ''take  the  traitor,  dead  or  alive  ;*' 
while  a  bloodhound,  which  they  had  brought  to 
render  retreat  impossible,  barked  and  gamboled 
in  demoniac  delight,  anxious  for  some  victim  upon 
whom  to  exert  his  sanguinary  instinct. 

Daniel  Tharin  now  showed  himself,  every  inch, 
a  nidn.  Throwing  himself  before  the  assassins,  by 
every  possible  exertion,  he  endeavored  to  dissuade 
or  frighten  them  from  their  diabolical  and  unlaw 
ful  designs. 

11* 


126  THE  ALABAMA  REFUGEE. 

But  not  long  did  they  parley  at  the  door,  which 
soon  gave  way  beneath  reiterated  blows — the 
shrieks  of  the  women  and  children  arising  in  wild 
accompaniment  to  the  ferocious  onslaughts. 

Then  ensued  a  scene  which  beggars  description. 
Those  two  heroic  daughters  of  South  Carolina, 
the  mother  and  the  aunt  of  the  imperiled  Union 
ist,  re-enacted  the  celebrated  deeds  of  their  re 
nowned  Union  mothers  of  1776.  They  placed 
themselves  before  the  door  of  the  apartment  in 
which  the  son  and  nephew  was  awaiting  certain 
death — with  the  excusable  resolution,  however, 
not  to  die  alone  /  they  denied  the  right  of  way  to 
the  monsters  before  them,  unless  their  fangs  should 
first  drink  their  blood  !  The  voice  of  the  mother, 
in  tones  of  mingled  reproach  and  intercession,  the 
rebukes  and  withering  denunciations  of  the  aunt, 
the  unhesitating  manly  warnings  of  the  uncle,  the 
cries  of  the  children, — these,  interwoven  with  the 
bloodthirsty  shouts  of  the  frenzied  "  committee," 
produced  an  appalling  medley,  which  was  any 
thing  but  intelligible  to  the  ears  of  the  only  silent 
individual  on  the  premises. 

In  the  midst  of  the  confusion,  the  little  cousin 
of  the  "  culprit,''  Sallie  Tharin,  entered  the  room 
wherein  "cousin  Robert"  was  awaiting  his  fate. 
She  heard  him  breathe  the  words,  "  O  God ! 
take  care  of  my  family !  Lord  Jesus,  receive  my 
spirit !"  This  completely  overcame  the  sweet 
child,  and  she  commenced  weeping  and  wringing 
her  hands.  This  recalled  me  to  mvself,  and,  turn- 


SCENE    THE    FOURTH.  .  127 

ing  to  her,  I  said,  with  such  calmness  as  I  could 
command, 

"Sallie  dear,  you  had  hotter  retire,  and  take  all 
the  children  out  of  the  line  of  my  fire ;  fur  this 
gun  will  discharge  its  contents  in  that  direction"- 
pointing  toward  the  door.  "Take  the  children 
with  you,  and  get  your  mother  and  mine,  and  the 
rest,  to  leave  the  doorway  as  soon  as  the  ruiHans 
enter;  fur  I'll  kill  as  many  as  possible,  and  this 
gun  will  scatter." 

It  was  a  double-barreled  fowling-piece,  one 
barrel  of  which  was  loaded  with  buck  and  the 
other  with  duck  shot. 

Controlling  her  emotion,  the  child  retired,  and 
was  making  the  arrangements,  I  verily  believe, 
when  the  voice  of  Williams,  raised  to  its  highest 
pitch,  and  evidently  intended  for  me,  reached  my 
ears  : 

"  Mrs.  Tharin,  we  intend  no  violence  to  your 
son  ;  we  only  want  to  afford  him  that  trial  he  dc- 
'i/ia))d<d  day  In  fore  yesterday" 

This  //vVi1 — for  it  proved  to  be  nothing  better- 
succeeded.  Uncocking  the  gun,  I  leaned  it  care 
fully  up  in  the  corner,  and,  to  the  astonishment 
of  all,  advanced  into  their  tumultuous  midst,  and 
exclaimed — while  my  aunt  struck  up  a  revolver 
which  was  aimed  at  my  head— u  / again  appeal 
to  tht-  law  !  I d<  lutind  a  Jcyal  trial  /"  * 

*  No  person  unlawfully  arrested,  North  or  South,  should 
omit  to  demand,  before  witnesses,  a  le^al  trial. 


128  THE  ALABAMA  REFUGEE. 

Several  revolvers  were  leveled  at  the  prisoner, 
who  said,  with  folded  arms  — 

"  Fire  away,  gentlemen  !  I  am  an  unarmed  pris 
oner,  entirely  at  your  mercy.  You  are  numerous 
and  well  armed  —  I  am  single-handed  and  weapon 
less.  If  you  are  cowardly  enough  to  fire  now— 
'  it  is  allotted  to  all  men  once  to  die.'  ': 

They  now  commenced  dragging  me  away,  when 
my  mother  rushed  forward  to  embrace  me.  She 
was  restrained  by  the  brutal  crowd.  I  saw  it  all, 
and,  by  a  sudden  force,  hurling  Williams  to  the 
right  and  Rives  to  the  left,  sprang  to  her  side, 
and  caught  her  to  my  breast,  exclaiming  — 

"  I  will  embrace  my  mother.  Mother,  if  I  sec 
you  on  earth  no  more,  I  beg  you  to  remember  I 
die  a  victim  to  my  patriotism  f" 

"  And  for  your  father's  principles,"  groaned  the 
mother. 

Some  of  the  crowd  had  dashed  forward,  with 
ready  weapons,  to  pi-event  that  embrace  —  perhaps 
the  last  on  earth  of  the  mother  and  her  first-born  ; 
but  the  majesty  of  Nature  restrained  their  hands, 
and  in  confusion  they  turned  away,  while  their 
victim  handed  his  fainting  mother  to  his  aunt, 
who  was  sobbing  in  the  wildest  emotion  near  by. 

This,  dear  mother,  perhaps  was  our  last  em 
brace  ;*  but  what  cares  Secession  for  the  dearest 


*  The  last  time  the  Unionist  heard  from  his  only  surviving 
parent,  he  was  at  Cincinnati,  an  exile  from  his  native  South. 
Her  letter  was  dated  March  olst,  1861.  Whether  it  will  ever 
again  be  permitted  them  to  look  on  each  other  in  this  Avorld 


SCENE    THE   FOURTH.  129 

of  human  tics  ?  Tlie  man  who  would  violently  sun 
der  this  glorious  Union,  would  ruthlessly  trample 
upon  all  humanities,  and  even  mock  at  God!  The 
man  who  would  fight  in  hattle  for  any  other  pur 
pose  than  to  restore  it,  is  a  murderer  ! 


of  storm,  is  a  subject  for  conjecture  only.  An  extract  hero 
may  not  be  quite  out  of  place.  It  will  illustrate  the  plans 
of  the  vigilance  committee,  and  the  manner  in  which  they 
finish  up  the  work  they  once  undertake — hesitating  at  no 
falsehoods  to  sustain  their  "  party,"  as  Mrs.  Tharin  shrewdly 
suggests : 

"  Kobert  Rives,  who  appears  to  be  very  busy  in  saying  any 
thing  that  has  a  tendency  to  save  his  party,  told  your  uncle 
Daniel  that  he  heard  that  you  were  writing  and  speaking  on 
the  horrors  of  slavery.  I,  for  one,  cannot,  neither  will  I,  be 
lieve  such  a  report ;  but  misrepresentation  and  misunderstand 
ing  have  caused  much  real  sorrow  to  us  already.  Yes!  1  as 
sure  you  that  after  you  left,  the  anguish  I  felt  is  indescribable. 
1  thought  I  should  have  died.  I  could  neither  eat  nor  sleep. 
When  I  received  your  letter,  and  found  that  you,  my  deal- 
persecuted  child,  were  safe  and  well,  and  among  friends,  I  felt 
most  grateful  to  kind  Providence  for  guiding  you  safelv  from 
cruel  foes  and  a  bitter-hearted  set  of  men,  who  have  not  (iod 
before  their  eyes.  If  there  is  any  justice  in  lair,  it  is  my  desire 
and  request  to  you,  that  you  will  not  suffer  these  men  to  go 
unpunished.  You  can  make  every  one  of  them  suffer  for  their 
unlawful  seizure  and  detention  of  you.  You  must  vindicate 
your  character,  as  it  is  and  ought  to  be  dear  to  us  all."  (Pear 
mother,  am  I  not  n»w  and  here  vindicating  my  character?  I 
hope  this  may  reach  your  eye — even  if  its  writer  never  more 
behold  your  venerated  face.)  "  You  have  friends  suflicient  to 
help  you  in  the  case,  and  who,  1  feel  satisfied,  will  do  so.  This 
case  is  one  in  a  thousand.  Persons  all  around  here  are  crying 
shame  upon  such  unlawful  and  mean  conduct. 

"  Your  aunt  Martha  and  myself  were  sitting  in  the  room  the 
other  day,  sewing,  when  t\vo  gentlemen  of  very  respectable 


130 


THE    ALABAMA    REFUGEE. 


The  children,  led  by  their  father,  now  pressed 
forward  to  kiss  "  Cousin  Eobert,"  and,  after  the 
touching  parting,  I  said,  smiling  sadly— 

"  Don't  be  frightened,  little  ones :  I'll  be  back 
soon.  The  law  will  vindicate  my  innocence. — 
Now,  sirs,  I  am  ready  for  trial !" 


appearance  rode  up  to  the  gate,  and,  after  bowing  very  respect 
fully,  asked  us  if  this  was  Mr.  D.  C.  Tharin's  hoiise  that  was 
broken  open  to  get  at  Mr.  R.  S.  Tharin  ?  We  told  them  it  was. 
They  then  asked  '  if  we  knew  any  of  their  names.'  Martha 
called  some  names,  which  they  took  down  in  their  pocket- 
Look."  .  .  .  .  "  We  do  not  know  who  these  gentlemen  can  he. 
They  said  something  about  Wetnmpka,  whither  they  were 
going,  or  where  they  had  been,  I  can't  say  which,  but  they 
mentioned  Wetumpka." 

Again  she  writes  in  the  same  letter :  "  I  really  think  this 
piece  of  business  is  already  stirring  ;  therefore,  my  dear  son, 
I  think  it  advisable  that  you  should  remain  quiet.  Write  or 
say  nothing  at  all  on  the  subject  of  slavery,  as  you  may  again 
be  misrepresented.  Brother  Edward  wrote  (from  Charleston, 
S.  C.)  to  In-other  Daniel,  inclosing  a  piece,  which  he  cut  from  a 
paper,  which  states  that  you  intended  publishing  an  Abolition 
paper,  to  be  called  the  Non-slaveholder — leaving  out,  to  suit  its 
own  views,  that  it  was  to  have  been  published  at  Montgomery, 
as  the  editor  knew  a  paper  published  in  a  Southern  city  could 
not  be  one  of  thai  sort.  The  piece  Edward  sent  to  Daniel,  said 
the  above  was  communicated  by  Robert  JUres.  I  have  no  faith 
in  that  man.  They  are  nil  trembling  for  FEAR.  Therefore  I 
say  again,  be  cautious.  The  piece  I  allude  to  says  also  that 
'  the  punishment,  though  physically  slight,  was  degrading.' 
Edward  also  inclosed  to  Daniel  another  piece.  Both  of  the 
pieces  are  headed,  '  ORDERED  OFF,'  &c." 

Asa  proper  comment  on  this  letter,  I  will  here  add  the  27th 
section  of  Art.  I.  of  Alabama's  Constitution  (Bill  of  Rights) : 

"  Emigration  from  this  State  shall  not  be  prohibited,  nor 
shall  any  citizen  be  exiled.'1 — Art.  I.,  £  27. 


SCENE   THE   FOURTH.  131 

"Trial — TIcll !''  slioutcd  an  infuriated  mobocrat; 
"you've  had  your  trial,  and  now  you  will  suffer 
your  punishment !" 

"  Hold  that  dog  !"  cried  a  voice  ;  "  or  he'll  ren 
der  a  trial  a  useless  formality." 

"Down!  down,  sir!"'  commanded  the  hound's 
owner,  at  the  same  time  grasping  him  hy  the  collar 
and  calling  for  assistance.  The  dog  hud  eyed  the 
prisoner,  as  if  to  make  sure  that  he  was  the  object 
of  all  this  hubbub,  and,  having  seen  the  frantic 
movements  of  those  who  were  dragging  him  along, 
had  crouched  for  a  spring  at  his  throat,  when  the 
intervention  of  Williams  prevented  a  catastrophe. 

As  the  guard  and  their  prisoner  approached 
the  "?><//•'-  academy,"  a  barbaric;  scene  burst  upon 
their  view.  About  two  hundred  and  iifty  planters, 
-Teat  and  small  (manv  of  whom  claimed  to  beloner 

O  v 

to  the  iirst  families i,  and  their  sycophants,  are  con 
gregated  around  the  building,  awaiting  in  various 
attitudes  and  occupations  the  return  of  their  mes 
sengers.  As  the  latter  approach,  a  voice,  from  the 
midst  of  the  expecting  crowd,  demands— 

"  Have  you  got  the  d— d  rascal  f 

"  Got  him  !    1  reckon  we  have." 

A  shout  ascends  from  the  assembly,  who,  from 
their  recumbent  or  obli<jue  attitudes,  start  into 
bustling  activity.  Some  replenish  their  mouths 
with  new  supplies  of  tobacco  ;  some  ignite  fresh 


*  It  will  be  remembered  that  the  vigilance  committee  had 
met  in  the  old  ueudemv. 


132  THE  ALABAMA  REFUGEE. 

cigars,  or  throw  away  old  ones ;  some  fire  their 
pistols  in  the  air ;  some  rush  into  the  building, 
and  some  apply  themselves  to  their  whisky  bot 
tles,  with  hilarious  enjoyment. 

Carson,  who  had  been  quite  demonstrative, 
waiting  until  the  prisoner  drew  near  enough  to 
be  seen  and  recognized,  exclaimed— 

"Tharin,  see  hov?  popular  you  are,  and  how  we 
rejoice  at  your  advent !" 

"  Good  !  Good  !  Bully  for  you,  Carson  ;  try  it 
again  !"  shouted  the  crowd. 

The  "prisoner,"  "traitor,"  "rascal,*'  or  "cul 
prit,"  as  I  was  variously  denominated,  being  con 
ducted  into  the  house,  the  others  tumultuously 
followed,  and  took  the  seats  which  ought  to  have 
remained  sacred  to  Education  and  Liberty,  but 
which  were  now  prostituted  to  the  unhallowed 
and  murderous  designs  of  the  ringleaders  of  that 
tiger-mob. 

"I  move,"  said  Williams,  "that  this  meeting 
appoint  Dr.  Dunklin  our  president." 

"  Second  the  motion,"  said  a  voice. 

Upon  taking  his  seat,  the  chairman  thanked  the 
meeting  for  the  distinguished  honor  it  had  done 
him  in  appointing  him  to  preside  over  so  intelli 
gent  and  patriotic  a  body.  lie  would  have  pre 
ferred  that  some  more  distinguished  gentleman 
had  been  elevated  to  the  honorable  but  respon 
sible  duty  of  presiding  over  their  deliberations. 
The  great  events  that  were  daily  transpiring  in 
the  South  would  soon  be  read  in  Europe,  and 


SCENE   THE    FOURTH.  133 

bring  down  the  applause  of  kings  and  princes. 
Among  the  most  dangerous  enemies  of  the  South 
were  those  who,  in  her  very  midst,  grew  dissatis 
fied  with  her  peculiar  and  patriarchal  institutions, 
and,  of  course,  -with  the  rate  of  thoxe  who  ailm 
ent*  d  and  up/«  !</  their  extension.  These  men  were 
the  more  hateful  because  they  considered  King 
Cotton  a  despot,  and  his  followers,  rebels.  The 
misguided  vounir  man  who  was  to  be  arraigned 

o  \j  o  r^ 

that  day  before  the  majestic,  tribunal  of  public 
opinion,  merited  public  vengeance,  and  would 
doubtless  receive  it." 

Amid  great  applause,  the  "honors"  were  shared 
with  a  secretary,  "  Professor"'  Harris,  of  Virginia, 
the  teacher  who  daily  presided  over  that  very 
academy;  and  the  meeting  was  formally  declared 
readv  for  the  transaction  of  business. 

A  lawyer  of  Monterey,  Alabama,  named  Pow- 
KI.I.,  who,  like  the  prisoner,  had  xwnrn,  when 
admitted  to  practice  law  in  the'  courts  of  the 
State,  to  "support  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States  and  the  Constitution  of  Alabama,  and 
never,  for  considerations  personal  to  himself,  to 
neglect  the  cause  of  the  defenseless  and  op 
pressed,7'  demanded  of  the  committee,  "whether 
Mr.  Tharin  had  come  willingly,  or  unwillingly, 
with  his  captors." 

Mr.  Williams  answered,  that  the  prisoner  cer 
tainly  gave  himself  up,  but  that  it  was  very  un 
willingly  indeed  ;  and  that  he  believed  the  pris 
oner  was  still  dissatisfied  with  the  course  of  the 


THE    ALABAMA    REFUGEE. 

people  (!),*  and  that  his  mother  had  denominated 
the  committee  a  brutal  mob" 

"The  prisoner"  here  rose  and  asked  Mr.  Wil 
liams  if  I  did  not  surrender  myself  in  consequence 
of  Mr.  Williams'  own  promise  that  I  should  have 
a  legal  trial,  and  immediately  on  receiving  that 
assurance. 

This  produced  great  commotion.  Some  person 
shouted,  "Shut  up,  damn  you!"  The  president 
called  "  order,"  and  Williams  sat  down  ;  while 
Powell,  anxious  to  increase  the  excitement,  and 
raging  with  ebullient  fury,  demanded  of  Williams 
whether  the  prisoner  had  not  behaved  insolently 
to  the  committee. 

"Rather  so,"  admitted  Williams. 

POWELL.  "How  did  Old-man  Tharin  behave?" 

WILLIAMS.  "  I  regret  to  say  that  Mr.  Daniel 
Tharin  being  unwilling  that  the  committee  should 
enter  his  house,  we  had  to  do  so  by  force." 

THE  PRISONER.  "It  was  natural  for  my  uncle  to 
be  excited,  under  the  circumstances.  As  he  acted 
according  to  my  own  suggestions,  I  hope  no  one 
save  myself  will  be  held  responsible  for  my  acts, 
/am  not  ashamed  of  them." 

THE  PRESIDENT  (xaraycJy).  "Silence,  Mr.  Tha 
rin  !  You  will  find  it  dangerous  to  interrupt 
these  proceedings  again  !" 

The  applause  that  greeted  this  unparliamentary 


*  I  beg  the  reader  to  discriminate  between  the  people  and 
some  people. 


SCENIC    THE    FOUliTIT.  135 

act  was  absolutely  deafening.  The  prisoner  sat 
down,  and  almost  gave  up  all  for  lost. 

This  desultory  discussion  was  intended  to  work 
up  the  passions  of  the  illiterate  mob  to  the  highest 
pitch,  and  continued  so  long  as  to  involve  great 
peril  to  the  prisoner.  At  length,  some  one,*  pre 
mising  that  "'since  Mr.  Tharin  had  demanded  a 
legal  trial,  and  since  the  justice  of  the  peace  at 
Benton  had  told  the  committee,  who  had  been 
appointed  to  see  him  vesterdav,  k  tfmt  //v/i/w///-v 
were  )iot  'IM  liable  for  1h<  <>ffense\  committed  In/  j\Ir. 
TJiarin,  or  ttitjyjosed  t<>  h<irc_  b<>n  committed  l>y 
/untj  and  since  we  cannot  wait  for  \\\QfslowpTO- 
ceedtiiys  oj~  court-house  machinery^ — he  suggested, 
therefore,  that  a  jury  of  twelve  should  proceed  to 
try  Mr.  Tharin,  t/n-n  ami  tlt<-r<',  and  that  the  meet 
ing  pledge  itself  to  abide  by  its  verdict"— which 
motion,  without  division  or  repetition,  was  vocif 
erously  carried. 

\\\  another  vote,  the  chair  was  authorized  to 
nominate  the  ''jury,"  who  iv<  re  not  to  l>e  sworn, 
when  the  miserable  caricature  of  justice  com 
menced,  the  president,  I  suppose,  being  t\\cju<l<jr, 

*  I  was  not  in  a  situation  to  ask  for  names. 

\  "  The  people  shall  be  secure  in  their  persons,  houses,  pa 
pers,  and  possessions,  from  unreasonable  sei/ures  or  searches; 
and  no  warrant  to  search  any  place,  or  xdze  (tiry  person  or  tiling, 
shall  issue,  without  describing  them  as  nearly  as  may  be,  nor 
without  probable,  cause,  supported  by  oath  or  affirmation." — 
Constitution  <>f  Alul/nim,  Art.  I.,  sec.  9. 

\  The  (juneral  excuse  all  over  the  whole1  country  for  arbitrary 
arrests. 


136  THE    ALABAMA    REFUGEE. 

but  the  prisoner  being  refused  the  privilege  of 
challenging  a  single  juror, — if  a  man  not  bound 
by  oath  can  be  considered  a  juror, — and  the  pris 
oner,  on  motion  of  the  chivalrous  Carson,  being 
also  denied  any  speech  before  the  "jury."* 

The  prisoner  demanded  time  to  summon  wit 
nesses  from  Wetumpka,  and  procure  other  testi 
mony.  But  this  was,  of  course,  refused. * 

"  May  I  ask  one  favor,  Mr.  President  ?"  respect 
fully  demanded  the  prisoner. 

PitKSinKNT.  "  Well !  what  do  you  want  ?" 

"  I  want  Mr.  Powell,  who  is  a  lawyer,  sworn, 
like  myself,  to  sujyw/'t  the  Constitutions  of  this 
State,  and  of  the  United  States,  and  who  also,  like 
myself,  recorded  his  oath,  when  admitted  to  prac 
tice  law,  that  '  never,  for  considerations  personal 
to  himself,  would  he  neglect  the  cause  of  the  de 
fenseless  and  oppressed' — to  defend  my  cause  be 
fore  this  'jury." 

"Keally,  Mr.  Tharin,"  said  Powell,  "I  start  for 
home  immediately,  as  I  have  business  there." 


*  "  In  all  criminal  prosecutions,  the  accused  lias  a  right  to 
be  heard  by  himself  and  counsel ;  to  demand  the  nature  and 
cause  of  the  accusation,  and  have  a  copy  thereof;  to  be  con 
fronted  with  the  witnesses  against  him  ;  to  have  compulsory 
process  for  obtaining  witnesses  in  his  favor,  and,  in  all  prose 
cutions  by  indictment,  or  information,  a  speedy  public  trial  by 
an  impartial  jury  of  the  county,  or  district,  in  which  the  offense 
shall  have  been  committed  ;  he  shall  not  be  compelled  to  give 
evidence  against  himself,  nor  shall  he  be  deprived  of  his  life, 
liberty,  or  property,  but  by  due  course  of  law." — Count.  Ala., 
Art.  I.,  §  10. 


SCENE   THE    FOURTH.  137 

Saying  this,  lie  left  the  apartment,  but,  return 
ing,  five  minutes  afterward,  took  the  side  of  the 
prosecution ,  and  was  peculiarly  unlawyerlike  and 
violent  from  beginning  to  end. 

What  a  demon  is  the  spirit  of  Radicalism ! 
whose  votaries  jw/'ji.rre-  themselves  willingly,  wn 
proudly,  whenever  their  oaths  to  support  their 
own  State  Constitutions,  or  the  national  Constitu 
tion  itself  come  in  conflict  with  their  interests  or 
passions!  uState  /vy///*/"*  "  individual  rights!** 
Republicanism  !  —  awav  witli  the  hypocritical 
cant  of  Treason.  The  non-slaveholders— the  peo 
ple  Xorth  and  South,  who  love  the  Union  more 
than  sectionalism, — might  well  exclaim  : 

"  We've  had  wronyxto  stir  a  fever  in  the  blood  of 
age,  and  make  the  infant's  sinews  strong  as  steel!" 

There  is  not  a  single  sworn  lawyer  or  official 
Xorth  or  South,  who  sustains  the  right  of  Radicals 
to  mob,  punish,  or  arrest  Unionists,  to  rob  the 
public,  treasury,  to  suppress  free  speech,  or  to  in 
dulge;  in  amj  unconstitutiunalities  whatever,  who 
is  not  a  perjurer  before  (iod,  and  deserving  of  the 
reprobation  of  all  honest  men  ! 

Powell  but  imitated,  on  a  small  scale,  the 
leaders  of  Secession  in  his  own  State  and  else 
where,  and  deserves  no  more  reprobation,  and  no 
/rw?,  than  the  Yanceys,  the  Rhetts,  the  Davises, 
the  Stephenses,  the  Floyds,  the  Masons  and  Sli- 
dells,  ct  id  oinnc  g<n>f*<  whose  opportunities,  or 
talents,  afford  them  a  wider  field  fur  the  display  of 


i  •> 


138  THE  ALABAMA  REFUGEE. 

The  right  of  Secession,  as  it  is  called,  even  if  it 
exist  in  a  State,  separately,  and  without  the  con 
sent  of  all  her  co-States,  to  dissolve  the  Union, 
can  not,  even  in  the  opinion  of  its  warmest  advo 
cate, — if  he  he  a  gentleman,  not  to  say  patriot, 
which  no  Radical  can  be  considered, — legalize 
robbery,  false  imprisonment,  perjury,  unlawful 
duress,  murder,  exile,  libel,  and  slander.  A  man 
may  possibly  arrive  at  an  honest  conviction  that 
this  or  that  State,  or  even  section  is  wronged,  but 
two  wrongs  not  makiiuj  a  rujJd, — still  it  becomes 
him  to  express  himself  without  mendacity,  and  to 
conduct  himself  without  dishonor  and  dishonesty. 

Political  honesty  had  become  so  unfashionable 
in  Alabama,  that  I  was  about  to  suffer  for  being 
true  to  my  oath,  and  to  my  own  convictions  of 
duty  under  that  oath. 

Villains  seize  the  darkness  of  midnight  for  the 
perpetration  of  their  rascalities. 

Political  villains  had  seized  upon  the  darkness 
produced  by  their  own  diabolisms,  to  aim  the 
assassin's  dagger  at  the  heart  of  political  honesty 
and  truth.  Rioting  in  the  licentiousness  of  the 
mob  they  had  engendered,  they  fattened,  like 
blo\v-flies,  upon  the  garbage  which  is  their  natural 
element. 

Like  all  noxious  vermin,  they  should  have  been 
gotten  rid  of  before  the  body  politic  became  in 
fested  with  their  presence,  and  all  its  members 
gre\v  rotten  with  the  ulceration  of  their  incisive 


SCENE    THE    FOURTH.  139 

II  ad  President  Buchanan  possessed  either  hon 
esty  or  courage,  this  necessary  cautery  would  have 
been  practiced. 

Powell  being  the  only — at  least,  the  most  noisy 
• — lawyer  in  the  mob.  managed  to  browbeat  "the 
prisoner"  into  a  submission,  which  he  could  never 
have  obtained,  if,  man  to  man,  we  had  met.  Hut 
as  the  crowd  of  Radicals  silenced  me  whenever  1 
attempted  to  speak,  and  encouraged  Powell,  it 
was  very  easy  to  establish  the  following  facts  :* 

1.  L  had  <-onc<  r*<<l  with   several  /^^-slavehold 
ers   in  the   neighborhood   on  the   subject  of  1h>  ir 
Southern  I  tights  ! 

2.  1  was  about  to  establish,  at  "Montgomery,  a 
newspaper  to  be  called  Th<-  Non-slaveholder. 

3.  1  was  organizing  the  people  into  secret  asso 
ciations,  for  the  i'<j_n-<d,  Ly  <•<>,, r.ntion*  of  the  (  )rdi- 
nance  of  Secession. 

Hut  the  malignity  of  the  mob  was  not  satisfied 
with  thesc/<2r/.y,  not  one  of  which  was  denied  by 
their  victim.  The  measure  of  their  ini<|uitous 
proceedings  could  not  be  full,  until  they  had 
dragged  in  the  "  everlasting  nigger.''  Otherwise, 
incompleteness  would  be  stamped  upon  their  meet 
ing,  and  even  reaction  might  ensue,  honorable  to 
the  captive  and  dangerous  to  themselves. 

.Radicalism  in  both  sections  feeds  upon  only  one 
idea— niyy<-'r.  Take  the  in<j<j<r  out  of  the  dump 
ling,  and  Radicalism  dies  for  want  of  appetite. 


Vide  pp.  144-152,  inclusive. 


14:0  T1IK    ALABAMA    KKKUGKK. 

Iii  spite,  therefore,  of  the.  palpable  absurdity  of 
supposing  that  the  Secret  Uni'on  Association  was 
an  Abolition  movement,  or  that  &\Q  "  Non-slave- 
lioldo'^  to  be  published  at  Montgomery,  was  to 
have  been  an  open  advocate  of  Abolition,  these 
tilings  were  charged  upon  the  Unionist,  because 
thus  alone  could  they  get  rid  of  him  and  his  Con 
servative  doctrines  on  the  great  national  question 
of  Union  or  Disunion. 

The  r/tarf/c  of  being  an  Abolitionist  was,  there- 
lore,  inevitable.  /Yr>^\  were  not  absolutely  ne 
cessary — the  muiw  -itself  was  enough  lor  any 
Southern  mob  to  grow  wild  on. 

A  witness,  previously  suborned,  viz.,  the  same, 
John  Y.  Buford,  or  Beaufort,  who  had  impeached 
him  before  the  vigilance  committee,  was  intro- 

O 

duoed.  Powell  led  the  witness  to  the,  declaration 
that  Tharin  was  a  "  rank  Abolitionist,"'  because 
he  had  heard  the  latter  say  he  wanted  to  "abolish 
monopolies"  and  that  that  inuxt  hare  meant  slav 
ery,  in  his  (Beaufort's)  opinion. 

PKISONKR.  "  May  I  not  ask  the  witness  one 
question  ?" 

Much  discussion  ensued  as  to  whether  this  poor 
privilege  should  be  granted,  and  finally  it  was  ac 
corded  with  a  very  bad  grace. 

PKISONKR.    "Mr.  Beaufort," 

The  witness,  who  had  risen  respectfully  to  an 
swer  Powell,  obstinately  retained  his  seat. 

.PKISOXKK  (fixing  his  eye  iinnly  on  the  witness). 
"Mr.  Beaufort  P 


SCENIC    THE    FOURTH.  141 

~No  better  result. 

PRISONER  (with  a  stamp  of  his  foot).  "  Witness  ! 
rlw  when  I  speak  to  you!" 

'Poor  Beaufort  was  absolutely  galvanized  to  liis 
i'eet.  Trembling  all  over,  and  pale  as  death,  IK,' 
gasped,  with  blanched  lips  and  husky  throat  — 

"Sir!" 

"  Beaufort,  don't  answer  the  d — d  traitor," 
shouted  Powdl,  who  was  joined  by  many  others 
with  loud  shouts,  oaths,  and  threatening  gestures. 

The  u  traitor,"  as  ///ry  called  the  loyal  man,  still 
kept  his  eye  upon  Beaufort,  who  had  sat  down, 
overwhelmed  with  shame  and  the  stings  of  a 
guilty  conscience. 

"  Mi1.  Thar'm,  do  not  intimidate  the  witness," 
bawled  the  inevitable  Carson. 

u  Do  not  be  alantwtl,  Mr.  Beaufort;  I  shall  ask 
vou  no  question.  ^  our  in<i/tn<'r  can  not  i'ail  to 
convince  anv  one  of  common  sense  that  you  have 


- 


Here  the  confusion  became  terrific.  Some  "  grit 
ted"  their  teeth,  others  cursed  and  swore  ;  but 
others  still  seemed  disposed  to  disbelieve  Beau 
fort,  exclaiming  —  "Very  strange!"  One  man 
made  bold  to  say — 

""Why,  John  Beaufort  looks  a  d — d  sight  more- 
guilty  than  Tharin  !" 

Seizing  upon  this  opportunity,  the  beleaguered 
man  sprang  to  his  feet,  and  exclaimed — 

"  Fellow-citizens,  judge,  yourselves,  between  us! 
.Here  is  a  man  larger  than  1,  who  trembles  at  my 


THE    ALABAMA    EEFUGEE. 

glance,  although  lie  has  two  hundred  and  fifty 
armed  men  to  "back  him.  If  you  take  his  evi 
dence  against  me  after  that,  it  is  because  you  thirst 
for  my  Uood '/" 

A  witness  was  admitted  to  the  stand,  who  testi 
fied  that  Mr.'Tharin  had  met  him  on  the  road, 
asked  him  if  he  had  any  negroes,  received  an 
affirmative  reply,  and  remarked  to  him  that  he 
had  better  sell  them  quickly,  because  that  kind 
of  property  was  valueless  in  civil  war,  and  that 
Abolition  and  Secession  were  identical  in  their 
effects. 

One  of  the  "poor  white  trash,"  who  had  agreed 
to  subscribe  to  the  Non-slaveholder,  was  made  to 
testify,  much  to  the  amusement  of  the  crowd,  in 
opposition  to  his  own  views  and  feelings  : 

POWKLL  (([iiictly).  "  Mr.  Eddings,  were  you  ever 
down  at  Monterey?" 

EDDINGS  (nervously).  "  Monterey  !  —  Do  you 
mean  Monterey  in  Mexico?" 

POWELL  (sarcastically).  "No!  Monterey  in  Ala 
bama." 

EODINGS  (blandly).  «  AVcll,  yes  !" 

POWELL  (courteously).  "  Have  you  any  objection 
to  say  why  you  left  Monterey?" 

EDDINGS  (excitedly).  "  That's  my  business  !" 

POWELL  (coolly).  "  Did  you  ever  know  of  a  man 
named  Powell  down  there  ?" 

EDDTNGS  (alarmed).  "Mr.  Powell,  I  thought  you 
wanted  me  here  as  a  witness  in  this  trial !" 

POWELL  (insinuatingly).    "  So  we  do  !    and  rf 


SCENE   THE    FOFRTIT.  143 

you'll  testify  rigid  In  this  trial,  I'll  say  no  more 
about  that  other  matter" 

EDDINGS  (briglitening).  "  Oh  !  certainly  !" 

POWELL.  kt  Xow,  Mr.  Eddings,  do  you  not  un 
derstand  ^(^-slaveholder  to  mean — Abolitionist?" 

EDDIXGS.  "  Xow  you  speak  of  it,  I  begin  to  see 
it  in  that  light/' 

POWELL.  "  Did  not  Tharin  tell  you  his  paper 
would  destroy  shivery  ?" 

EDDINGS.  "  Yes — slavery  of  white  people." 

POWELL  (peremptorily).  u  Answer  my  questions 
as  f  a*L'  tJion.  Do  you  think  Mr.  Tharin  cares  a 
damn  for  the  institution  of  slavery  ?" 

EDDINGS.  "Xo — not  for  them  that  own  it" 

POWELL.  "  "Would  you  like  to  go  to  Monterey 
with  me  ?" 

Eimixos  (alarmed).   "  Good  God  !  no  !  sir." 

POWKLL.  u  Does  Tharin  care  a  damn  for  the  in 
stitution  of  slavery?'' 

EDDIXUS.   "  Xo  sir-ree  !" 

Here  the  crowd  commenced  cheering  Powell, 
and,  amid  much  laughter,  prepared  themselves  for 
the  next  funny  scene. 

THE  SKCRETAIIY  (Prof.  Harris)  testified  that  Mr. 
Tharin  had  told  him  he  did  not  care  a  cent  for  any 
ik  peculiar"  institution. 

"  Big  Dudley,"  a  young  cotton-planter,  a  fran 
tic  Secessionist,  a  member  of  that  dignified  body,— 
the  unsworn  jury  of  twelve, — objected  to  the  ad 
mission  of  "  old  man  Tharin  on  the  stand  ;  be 
cause,"  he  said,  "  old  Tharin  (had)  behaved  scan- 


14-i  THE    ALABAMA    REFUGEE. 

dalous  in  not  admitting  them  into  his  house,  with 
out  making  such  a  d — d  fuss  about  it." 

But,  at  length,  after  much  stupid  opposition,  the 
prisoner's  uncle  was  admitted  as  a  witness,  mainly 
because  he  was  a  member  of  the  same  church  with 
some  of  the  "jury" 

Daniel  Tharin  testified  to  facts  diametrically 
at  variance  with  the  testimony  of  the  crest-fallen 
Beaufort,  who  was  so  completely  disconcerted  that 
he  did  not  even  raise  his  eyes,  and,  when  the  cross- 
examination  was  over,  hope  began  to  return  to  the 
prisoner's  heart. 

The  sketch,  which  lias  just  been  given,  of  that 
long  trial,  is  short,  in  comparison,  it  is  true ;  but, 
from  its  commencement  to  its  conclusion,  it  occu 
pied  nearly  nine  hours  of  keen  suspense  to  the 
captive,  but  of  keen  enjoyment  to  his  persecutors. 
As  soon  as  the  "  testimony"  was  concluded,  at 
about  7  P.  M.,  it  was  moved  that  the  "  audience" 
retire,  while  the  "jury,"  in  secret  session,  should 
consult  as  to  their  verdict. 

A  committee  of  three  was  appointed  to  guard 
the  prisoner,  and  the  "jury"  was  left  alone  with 
the  president  of  the  meeting. 


SCENE  THE  FIFTH. 


THE  VERDICT. 

"What  can  innocence  hope  for, 
When  such  as  sit  her  judges  are  corrupt?" 

MASSINGER. 

"Man  is  unjust;  but  (}od  is  just,  and  finally  justice  tri 
umphs."  LONGFELLOW. 

As  soon  as  the  recess  was  known  in  the  village, 

O      ' 

trays,  tilled  with  coffee  and  eatables,  approached 
upon  the  heads  of  female  slaves,  with  the  compli 
ments  of  "  missis,"  to  refresh  the  gentle  men  after 
their  patriotic  labors. 

I  swallowed  some  coifee,  but  abstained  from 
eating.  Although  I  felt  my  life  hung  upon  a 
single  thread,  I  perceived  that  thread  to  be  pres 
ence  of  mind!  That  lost,  /was  lost.  I  found 
that  many  of  the  mob  were  departing,  and  that 
those  who  remained  were  worn  out  with  the 
tedium  of  the  trial.  I  perceived  that  my  only 
hope  of  saving  my  life  (should  the  "  verdict"  of 
the  ''jury"  demand  it)  was,  by  at  once  creating 
a  reaction  in  the  minds  of  the  bystanders.  I 
commenced  by  praising  the  coffee,  complained 
of  the  cramped  condition  of  my  limbs,  after  sit- 


1-16  TIIK    ALABAMA    REFUGEE. 

ting  so  long  in  one  position,  proposed  a  short 
walk  to  the  committee,  which  was  willin<rlv 

£"}    *J 

agreed  to,  and  joined  in  the  conversation  with 
my  guard,  until  their  interest  was  excited  against 
their  will. 

I  told  them  how  I  loved  the  whole  nation, — 
North,  South,  East,  and  West, — too  much  to  see 
with  pleasure  the  severance  of  a  Union,  that 
Washington  had  described  as  the  "  palladium  of 
our  safety  ;"  that,  when  war  too  soon  should 
drench  the  land  with  kindred  blood,  and  when 
each  family  was  mourning  some  loved  and  lost 
one, — when  the  full  consequences  of  Secession 
were  upon  the  State  of  Alabama,  they  would 
know,  what  now  they  were  determined  to  ignore, 
that 

"TiiE  UNION  is  TIIK  PALLADIUM  OF  THEIR  SAFETY  !" 
I  had  not  ceased  talking  when  we  returned  to 
the  mob,  and  I  had  won  the  committee,  or  guard, 
to  a  better  understanding  of  my  views  and  feel 
ings.  One  by  one  the  crowd  gradually  collected 
around  us,  and  listened  to  the  conversation.  One 
of  the  Dudleys  said  he  believed  that  Mr.  Thariii 
was  in  correspondence  with  Northern  Abolition 
societies.  The  prisoner  stated  that,  situated  as  he 
then  was,  he  could  not  resent  this  intended  insult ; 
but  that  he  never  saw  or  communicated  with 
Abolitionists  in  his  life,  and  that  the  charge  origi 
nated  in  either  a  culpable  mistake,  or  else  in  the 
unscrupulous  misrepresentations  of  his  Disunion 
calumniators,  who  hesitated  at  no  means  to  de- 


SCKNK   THE   FIFTH.  147 

stroy  a  man  whose  views  on  the  subject  of  "  Union'' 
were  so  well  defined  as  his  own. 

In  this  way,  although  my  thoughts  were  neces 
sarily  more  with  the  future  than  with  the  present, 
I  sustained  a  desultory  conversation  for  (what 
seemed  to  me)  four  or  five  hours,  which,  however 
tedious,  I  would  willingly  have  prolonged. 

The  Southern  mind  is  peculiarly  susceptible  to 
change.  It  admires  courage,  and  despises  the 
reverse.  "We  do  not  acknowledge  a  consciousness 

o 

of  fear,  and  detest  those  who  manifest  it.  AVe 
respect  even  our  victims  who  conceal  their  appre 
hensions.  It  would  be  an  empty  panegyric  to  say 
that  the  subject  of  this  sketch /c/*!  no  fcai\  for  he 
writhed  in  his  inmost  soul  under  the  inflictions  of 
suspense  ;  but,  says  Shakspeare — 

"The  brave  man  is  not  he  who^<7x  no  f»-ar, 
For  that  were  foolish  and  irrational ; 
But  he  whose  steadfast  soul  despises  fear, 
And  nobly  dares  the  danger  nature  shrinks  from." 

The  secret  session  of  the  "jury"  was  protracted 
to  a  late  hour,  and  the  patience  of  the  outsiders 
was  taxed  to  its  utmost.  At  length  the  doors 
were  thrown  open,  and  the  eager  throng  resumed 
the  benches. 

A  sepulchral  silence  pervaded  the  assembly. 
The  "president"  called  the  meeting  to  order,  and 
announced  that  the  jury  would  read  their  verdict 
through  their  secretary,  "the  professor." 

With  pedantic  emphasis,  "  Professor"  Harris 
pronounced  the  following 


118  THE  ALABAMA  REFUGEE. 

"YEKDICT. 

"We,  the  'jury,'  find  the  defendant  guilty,  and 
decide  that  his  punishment  shall  be  as  follows : 

"  1.  He  shall  receive  thirty-nine  lashes,  as  a 
disgrace. 

"2.  As  soon  as  this  shall  be  concluded,  he  shall 
be  escorted,  by  a  committee  of  five,  to  Benton,  and 
placed  in  charge  of  the  captain  of  the  first  boat 
which  stops  there. 

"  3.  Should  he  ever  return  to  this  community,  he 
shall  be  hanged. 

"4.  The  proceedings  of  this  meeting  shall  be 
published  in  the  Montgomery  Advertiser  and 
Post." 

A  profound  hush  attended  and  followed  the 
sonorous  enunciation  of  the  sentence.  With  a 
calmness  that  astonished  myself  no  less  than  my 
audience,  I  said  : 

"  This,  then,  is  your  decision.  It  would  be  as 
unmanly  for  me  to  ask  any  commutation  of  this 
'punishment,'  as  it  is  unmanly  in  you  to  meditate 
so  gross  an  outrage.  But  I  do  not  suppose  you 
make  war  upon  defenseless  ivomen  and  children. 
The  immediate  publication  in  the  papers  of  your 
proceedings  will  probably  kill  my  wife,  who,  I 
learn,  is  very  sick  ;  I,  therefore,  move  that  a  post 
ponement  of  four  weeks  be  granted,  for  the  benefit 
of  persons  whom  even  you  acknowledge  innocent." 

No  word  was  spoken  for  some  time,  when  a  fee 
ble  voice  said,  "I  second  the  motion." 


SCENE   THE    FIFTH. 

"  We  don't  war  on  women  ;  but  we  don't  intend 
you  to  escape  that  way.  You  wish  to  cxcapc  ux ; 
but  you  can't,  and  you  shan't !"  Thus  spoke 
Itives,  who,  from  the  same  "jury,"  was  followed 
by  Carson,  who  thus  relieved  himself : 

"Mr.  President,  the  papers  found  on  this  man's 
person  show  his  statement  to  be  a  fact.  But  I 
may  as  well  state  that  his  papers  also  show  that 
lie  took  a  case  fur  a  "William  S.  Middlebrooks,  of 
Wetumpka,  accused  of  '  Lincolnisrn  /' : 

"  I  will  also  state,''  cried  the  blood-thirsty  Itives, 
"that  live  of  this  'jury,'  myself  among  the  num 
ber,  voted  to  hang  the  traitor,  and  only  gave  way 
because  we  could  not  convince  the  others  that 
death  was  not  too  severe  a  punishment.''  Then 
turning  to  the  victim  of  mobocracy,  he  exclaimed, 
at  the  same  time  shaking  his  list:  "  \Ve  know  our 
rights,  and,  knowing,  <i<ir<  maintain  !" 

"Considering  the  disparity  of  numbers,  sir."  I 
retorted,  "that  is  a  very  cheap  declaration.  It  is 
my  own  opinion,  there  is  very  little  daring  in  your 
present  course.  But,  .Mr.  President,  I  insist  on 
my  motion,  which  has  received  a  second." 

Here  a  Doctor  (Somebody)  moved  that  the  mo 
tion  be  amended,  by  inserting  */,/•  instead  of  four 
weeks,  adducing  medical  reasons  to  show  that 
ladies  are  liable  to  serious  injury  by  any  shock  to 
the  nervous  system  under  six  weeks. 

By  an  overwhelming  vote  the  amendment  was 
lost,  Riv<s  voting  In  tin:  negative. 

This  was  his  chivalry! 


150  THE    ALABAMA    REFUGEE. 

The  original  motion  was  barely  carried,  Rives 
a  gain  voting  in  the  negative. 

It  was  moved  that  the  chairman  appoint  a  com 
mittee  of  three  to  cany  into  effect  the  first  article 
of  the  verdict. 

Messrs.  Carson,  Dudley,  and  "  Big  Dudley"  (we 
know  not  their  Christian  names)  were  honor<  d 
with  the  appointment,  and  proceeded  to  its  dis 
charge  with  evident  trepidation.  They  were  told 
not  to  hurt  the  prisoner,  but  merely  to  disgrace 
him.  Remembering  the  fable  of  the  "Oak  and 
the  Reed,"  I  bowed  before  the  storm  I  could  not 
resist,  in  order  to  rise  upright  after  the  storm 
should  have  passed.  This  was  all  I  had  left  to 
do.  Had  I  resisted  those  light  and  harmless 
blows,  which  were  intended  only  to  "disgrace"' 
me,  I  would  have  been  murdered,  weaponless  as 
I  was,  in  cold  blood.  Over  my  grave  would  have 
settled  the  night  of  oblivion.  Calumniators  would 
have  detracted  from  my  reputation  unchecked,  and 
no  one  could  have  defended  my  memory  from  their 
violent  attacks.  This  has  been. the  fate  of  hun 
dreds,  thousands !  of  Unionists.  I  submitted  to 
the  dreadful  ordeal,  therefore,  because  I  knew  the 
effects  of  that  outrage  would  not  disgrace  me, 
while  my  enemies  were  engraving  upon  their 
souls  the  red  stripes  of  guilt  which  "  all  the  drops 
in  Neptune's  ocean"  could  not  efface.  Sustained 
by  a  sense  of  right, — even  proud  to  receive  the 
"  stripes"  for  my  defence  of  the  "  stars," — I  could 
almost  see  the  tearful  face  of  Washington  leaning 


SCENE   THE    FIFTH.  151 

from  heaven  and  bidding  me,  "in  patience  possess 
tliou  thy  soul  I7'  I  felt  not  the  blows,  I  saw  not 
the  forms  of  my  persecutors  ;  a  sarcastic  smile 
rested  on  my  lip,  while  a  peace  of  mind,  which  was 
as  incomprehensible  as  it  was  grateful,  stole  over 
my  interiors.  I  remembered  who  was  scourged, 
when  Pilate  yielded  his  own  convictions  to  the 
mob  of  Calvary.  The  crown  of  thorns  was  the 
earthly  portion  of  my  Saviour.  It  is  true,  that 
Saviour,  being  Divine,  human  cruelty  and  outrage 
could  not  "dixy  race"  him.  But  Truth,  the  great 
sanctifier,  sustains  the  meanest  of  her  disciples, 
blunts  the  points  of  the  thorns,  heals  their  un 
deserved  stripes,  and,  through  the  conscience, 
teaches  them  to  defy  the  terrors  of  persecution. 

After  the  outrage  had  been  perpetrated,  "7^, 
I  ask,  was  disgraced? — the  martyr,  or  the  mob  '. 

From  a  lordly  height  of  mental,  political,  and 
conscientious  superiority,  the  victim  looked  dtnni 
upon  his  foes.  They  seemed  to  have  suddenly 
become  dwarfed,  in  the  .stature  of  the  inner  man, 
to  Liliputian  dimiiiutiveness.  From  the  corrup 
tion  of  their  thoughts  was  stripped  the  vail  of 
opaque  flesh.  The  lava  waves  of  hell  were  cours 
ing  through  their  arteries.  Mercy,  Truth,  and 
Peace  had  fled  forever  from  their  dismantled 
shrines  ;  and  Cruelty,  Perjury,  and  Murder  chased 
each  other,  in  diabolical  sport,  through  the  corri 
dors  of  Memory.  Thereafter,  from  worse  to  worse, 
the  pathways  of  those  mobocrats  paralleled  into 
a  continuous  descent.  For  them,  no  more  would 


152  THE  ALABAMA  REFUGEE. 

shine  tlie  sun  of  Truth.  Gross  darkness  obscured 
their  vision,  and  they  groped  their  way  to  ruin, 
seeking  their  congenial  Tartarus,  where  their  law 
and  their  gospel  consist  in  this  quintessence  of 
rebellion— 

"Better  to  rule  in  hell  than  serve  in  heaven  /" 

A  committee  of  five  was  next  appointed,  among 
whom  were  Rush,  "Big  Dudley,"  Dr.  Carver,  and 
Jeff.  Rives,  to  carry  out  the  second  provision  of 
the  verdict.  These  were  appointed  because  they 
w^ere  well  mounted,  and  supplied  with  superior 
revolvers. 

It  was  deemed  a  matter  of  importance  that  an 
animal  should  be  procured  for  the  use  of  the  pris 
oner  suited  to  the  purpose.  Some  time  was  passed 
in  preparing  a  beast — and  such  a  beast !  A  mule, 
of  medium  proportions,  whose  trick  consisted  in 
stopping  whenever  he  was  urged  forward. 

During  the  interval,  the  victim  of  mobocracy 
wras  allowed  to  see  his  mother,  who  was,  however, 
so  frantic  with  grief  as  to  be  unable  to  hold 
connected  conversation.  Of  a  sanguineous  tem 
perament,  she  was  naturally  excitable,  and  the 
irritating  cause  was  of  a  magnitude  sufficient  to 
overthrow  stronger  nerves.  Clasping  her  son  to 
her  bosom,  she  shrieked  rather  than  said— 

"Go  to  Charleston,  my  son !  go  to  Charles 
ton  !  I  think  your  relatives  there  will  protect 
you  1" 

Quick  as  lightning  the  thought  flashed  through 
my  brain  that  to  appear  to  acquiesce  would  mis- 


SCENE    THE   FIFTH.  153 

lead  my  enemies  who  still  meditated  my  death, 
and,  so,  I  said  : 

"  Very  well  !  mother,  I  will  go  thither.  Cheer 
up,  and  you  will  soon  hear  of  my  safety/' 

Then  turning  to  my  Aunt  Martha,  I  said  : 

"  If  any  thing  should  happen  to  me,  tell  my 
brother  to  avenge  my  death,  and,  in  any  case,  as 
sure  him  solemnly  that  I  never  was  and  never  can 
be  an  Abolitionist,  that  my  Unionism  is  my  only 
offence;  that  Secession — Radicalism — I  hate  with 
a  perfect  hatred!'5 

"And  well  you  may  !''  she  replied,  bursting  into 
tears. 

The  solemn  leave-taking  over,  your  fellow-citizen, 
unlawfully  captured,  unlawfully  detained,  unlaw 
fully  dealt  with,  and  now  unlawfully  driven  into 
exile,  seized  his  portmanteau,  packed  by  his 
mother's  trembling  hands,  and  mounted  his 
'•  nondescript  animal"  for  a  midnight  tramp 
through  roads  covered  with  a  thick  layer  of 
sticky  prairie  mud,  and  under  the  escort  of  a  set 
of  ruffians,  who  discharged  their  pistols,  drank 
whisky,  and  "  patroled  for  niggers"  on  the  way. 
Meeting  a  "  nigger"  on  the  road,  they  asked  him 
for  his  "  pass ;"  not  having  any,  his  whisky  jugs 
were  broken,  and,  being  stripped  for  the  purpose, 
he  was  laid  prostrate  on  the  earth.  These  pre 
liminaries  concluded,  with  a  bridle-rein  they  whip 
ped  him,  amid  vociferous  cheers  on  the  one  side 
and  entreaties  on  the  other.  I  sat  my  mule  like 
monumental  marble,  without  manifesting  either 


154  THE  ALABAMA  REFUGEE. 

surprise  or  indignation.  My  own  sufferings  were 
too  fresh  in  my  mind  to  permit  any  outward  in 
dication  of  the  thoughts  which  were  busy  within 
me.  I  wondered  that  the  Caucasian  barbarians, 
who  "  escorted''  me,  did  not  recur  to  the  speech  I 
had  made  before  the  vigilance  committee  in  the 
old  academy,  when  I  had  said  : 

"All  white  men  in  Alabama  were  born  free  and 
equal ;  but,  under  the  name  of  Secession,  a  reign 
of  terror  has  already  overturned  even  the  nominal 
equality  of  white  men,  and  is  rapidly  degrading 
to  the  level  of  the  negro  every  free-born  voter  who 
prefers  not  Secession  before  his  chief  joy.  On  the 
ashes  of  democracy,  '  aristocrats'  have  erected  a 
throne,  upon  whose  downy  summit  reclines  a  des 
pot,  whom  they  call  '  King  Cotton,'  whose  in 
visible  \\&\\di  flourishes  the  lash  over  the  heads  of 
the  ' poor  while  trastt  who  encumber  the  soil, 
sacred  to  the  patent-leathers  of  the  patriarchs  of 
the  peculiar  institution !" 

When  our  forefathers  planned  that  proud  ban 
ner,  the  Stars  and  Stripes,  what  fiend  from  hell 
dared  to  write  this  invisible  sentence  on  its  folds: 

"The  day  shall  come,  when  he  who  would  de 
fend  the  stars,  shall  receive  the  stripes !" 

Interwoven  with  the  stars  of  Independence, 
were  and  are  the  stripes  of  despotism  !  The  slave 
holder  walks  with  his  head  among  the  stars — the 
poor  non-slaveholder  sinks  beneath  the  glorious 
stripes!  The  cotton-planter  imports  every  thing 
except  his  negroes  from  the  Xorth,  and  sends  back 


SCENE    THE    FIFTH.  155 

in  return — whipped  freemen.  The  cotton- planter 
makes  his  black  slave  a  bricklayer,  or  a  black 
smith,  or  a  wheelwright,  and  then  insolently  as 
serts  that  the  Yankees  alone  want  nctjro  e^uali1// 
in  the  South.  The  great  champion  of  the  cotton- 
planters,  AVilliam  L.  Yancey,  in  his  "  great"' speech. 
at  Cincinnati,  24-th  October,  iSfiO,  said: 

"  I3ut  >/<»(*  gentlemen,  want  to  place  the  negro 
and  the  white  man  upon  a  common  level.  You 
do  it  by  appealing  to  the  passions  ami  prejudices 
of  the  people.  You  will  get,  by  this  means,  a 
muja'to  (/•/Vt-rninoit.  And,  when  you  have  done 
this,  wlia1  <ffect  </•/'/  It  //,//•,  <>;t  tht  <jre<d  mas*  of 
free  laborers.  Xow  it  moves  in  a  higher  sphere, — • 
the  sphere  of  free-labor,  the  sphere  Q?  freedom,  but, 
ilit-n,  this  vast  mas*  of  slave  tabor  will  be  mixed 
up  with  it  8'>  a*  to  co:n<  in  contact  1 1*  if  ft  you  daily. 
They  ii'iJl  elbow  you  on,  f/»/  streets,  in  Hi,  -irurk- 
X/H>J>S,  on  tin1  roads,  and  in,  tie  li<l<l.  7 lie/j  will 
underbid  you  for  every  species  «j  labor,  for  the}' 
have  no  wish  beyond  the  satisfaction  of  to-day." 

See  what  a  Jtom,  -picture  Mr.  Yancey  has  drawn. 
lloir  did  Mr.  Yancey  know  that  the  negroes,  if 
allowed  to  flood  Cincinnati  with  black  mechanics, 
would  come  daily  in  contact  with  the  poor  white 
laborer?  How  did  he  know  that  they  would  un- 
dcrlj'ul  him  '{ 

Mr.  Yancey  Avas  drawing  a  home-picture!  lie 
had  seen,  all  his  life,  in  the  cities,  and  towns,  and 
villages  of  the  South,  ////;  very  tlfhiy  he  described 
so  graphically  to  a  Northern  audience.  lie  had 


156  THE  ALABAMA  REFUGEE. 

seen  the  rich  man's  negro  "  come  in  contact"  with 
the  poor  white  blacksmith,  the  poor  white  brick 
layer,  carpenter,  wheelwright,  and  agriculturist. 
He  had  seen  \k& preference  invariably  given  to  the 
rich  man's  negro  in  all  such  pursuits  and  trades ; 
like  me,  lie  had  heard  the  complaints  of  the  poor 
white  mechanic  of  the  South  against  this  very 
negro  equality  the  rich  planters  were  rapidly 
bringing  about.  These  things  he  had  heard  and 
seen  in  Charleston,  Xew  Orleans,  Mobile,  Mont 
gomery,  and  Wetumpka.  It  was  from  ocular  and 
auricular  demonstration  he  spoke,  when  he  ex 
claimed — 

"  Are  you  willing,  my  hard-handed,  hard-work 
ing  countrymen  of  the  North,  to  be  placed  on  a 
level  with  the  black  man  ?  Are  you  willing  to 
get  on  the  platform  prepared  for  you  by  this 
fanatical  party  at  the  North  ?  Do  you  want  to 
compete,  in  your  industrial  pursuits,  with  the 
black  nigger?1' 

Do  you,  ?  brethren  of  the  South,  relatives  and 
fellow-citizens  of  the  exile  who  publishes  these 
lines  ?  Have  not  the  planters  for  years  condemned 
every  mechanic  in  the  South  to  negro  equality  ? 
Does  not  Yancey  himself  confess  it?  Are  my 
hard-working,  hard-handed  fellow-citizens  of  the 
South  willing  any  longer  to  be  placed  on  a  level 
with  the  black  man  ? 

Oh  !  when  he  asked  that  question  of  the  me 
chanics  of  Cincinnati,  how  Yancey  sneered  !  And 
yet,  it  was  a  home-picture.  He  thought  of  you, 


SCENE    THE    FIFTH.  157 

non-slaveholders  of  Alabama,  and  of  tlic  South, 
and,  while  he  thought,  he  sneered ! 

And  yet,  how  you  cheer  him,  when  he  bids  you 
fight  fur  this  n<:<jro  (quality,  toil  for  this  proud 
aristocracy,  that  despises  and  sneers  at,  while  it 
uses  you.  They  think  all  you  are  fit  for  is  to 
"turn  bullets"  fur  them — your  betters,  who  call 
you  "poor  white  trash!" 

Degraded  America ! 

Gods!  if  one  non-slaveholder,  whum  I  know, 
could  only  have  his  rights  to-day  in  Alabama,  I'd 
stump  the  dear  old  State  fur  the  Union  unce  more, 
and  leave  the  planters,  whu  stick  to  treason,  to 
die  in  the  "last  ditch,''  which  they  so  cunningly 
prepared  for  you. 

And  you  would  help  me— if  you  deserve  the 
name  of  men,  if  you  be  worthy  of  the  glorious 
ancestry  from  which  you  sprung — if  you  be,  in 
deed,  superior  to  the  negro,  who  is  now  preferred 
before  you  !  Yes,  preferred  before  you  ;  lor,  while 
the  rich  colonel,  or  major,  who  commands  a  regi 
ment  of  such  men  as  you  by  hereditary  right, 
sends  his  black  body-servant  sweeping  over  the 
field  on  his  gallant  steed,  you — "  poor  buckras"- 
who,  owning  no  negroes,  are  not  exempt,  lift  your 
heavy  knapsacks  to  fight  for  his  and  his  negroeJ 
interests,  not  your  own  rights.  It  is  true,  some  of 
the  understrappers  are  put  to  dig  your  intrench- 
incuts — but,  too  often,  do  they  prepare  your 
graves  ! 

Cuffy  is  not  permitted  to  rea<l ;  for  his  uiaster 
14 


158  THE   ALABAMA   REFUGEE. 

says  it  unfits  him  for  submission.  Why  do  they 
prevent  2/<w  from  reading  this?  If  you  are  read 
ing  it  now,  you  are  doing  so  by  stealth.  You  dare 
not  read  the  truth,  much  less  speak  it,  while  you 
fight  for  your  independence ! 

Oh,  my  down-trodden  brethren  of  the  South ! 
will  you,  too,  join  in  the  outcry  of  my  enemies 
and  your  enemies,  who,  after  they  have  enslaved 
you,  have  exiled  your  only  champion,  because  he 
loves  you  more  than  life?  The  Irish  venerate  the 
name  of  John  Mitchell;  the  Hungarian  idolizes 
his  Kossuth — who,  when  exiled,  found  in  this 
country  a  welcome :  has  the  American  citizen 
quite  forgotten  Washington?  Shall  it  be  said 
that,  blinded  by  the  fruitless  hope  of  "owning  a 
slave  some  day,"  or  obfuscated  by  the  aristocratic 
recollection  of  having  once  owned  one  or  more, 
the  non-slaveholders  of  the  South  persecute  one  of 
their  own  number,  who  dares  to  reiterate  the  sen 
timents  of  Washington  ?  Remember,  it  was  Wash 
ington,  whose  last  public  act  was  to  admonish  us 
against  disunion :  "  The  Union  is  the  palladium 
of  your  safety  /"  Precious  legacy  to  a  once  free 
and  happy  people  !  When  will  that  people  throw 
off  the  yoke  of  bondage,  and  hail  their  only  safety 
in  a  peaceful  reunion,  in  which,  the  negro  slave 
being  confined  to  the  cotton  field,  there  will  be  no 
more  negro  equality !  Has  not  the  event  proved 
the  truth  of  the  prophecy  of  Washington,  when 
he  warned  us  against  party  spirit? 

One  moment  of  true  Southern  Rights — one  day 


SCENE    THE   FIFTH.  150 

of  freedom  to  the  non-slaveliolders  of  Alaoama — 
one  convention  of  the  people  who  voted  for  the 
Union,  and  whose  votes  were  not  counted,  and 
the  remotest  nation  of  earth  would  look  with 
astonishment  upon  the  mighty  result ! 

Some  of  the  class  to  which  I  address  myself, 
although  they  cannot  be  ranked  among  the  plant 
ers  of  cotton,  taking  up  the  cry  of  the  Charleston 
Mercury,  are  loud  in  their  cheers  for  Yancey,  the 
"Garibaldi"  of  the  South.  Little  do  they  know 
the  man  they  praise.  In  Cincinnati  he  proved 
himself  the  enemy  of  the  South,  and  the  trampler 
upon  "  Southern  Rights."  Only  three  months  and 
eighteen  days  before  he  advocated,  signed,  and 
rejoiced  over  the  Secession  ordinance  at  Mont 
gomery,  on  which  he  opposed  giving  you  and  me 
a  ratification  vote — which  we  never  had,  of  course1, 
or  things  would  have  been  different, — only  three 
months  and  eighteen  days  prior  to  his  voice  and 
vote  in  the  Montgomery  Convention,  William  L. 
Yancey  said  : 

"  In  the  Constitution,  they  ordained  that  the 
(U.  S.)  government  was  formed  for  themselves 
and  their  posterity  ?  Who  were  they?  There  was 
no  slave  in  that  Convention  that  formed  the  Con 
stitution.  There  was  no  negro  there !  There  were 
neither  slaves  nor  negroes  in  that  body  that 
wrote  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  But 
those  men  were  the  representatives  of  the  slave- 
holding  community, — SLAVEHOLDERS  TIIKMSELVKS, 
who  wrote  it  down  in  the  Constitution,  that  the 


1GO          THE  ALABAMA  REFUGEE. 

Constitution  they  made  was  for  themselves  and 
their  posterity  /" 

None  but  slaveholders — the  representatives  of 
slaveholders — were  in  the  Convention  that  formed 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  says  Yan- 
cey.  Moreover,  says  he,  these  men  "  wrote  it  down 
in  the  Constitution,  that  the  Constitution  they 
made,  was  for  themselves  and  their  posterity  !" 

"Were  they  honest  and  sincere?  No  man 
dare  say  to-night*  that  they  were  not!  If  honest 
and  sincere,  and  they  made  that  Constitution  to 
confer  the  blessings  of  Liberty,  on  themselves  and 
their  posterity,  then,  most  assuredly,"  exclaimed 
Yancey,  "  they  never  designed  that  Constitution 
for  the  black  race,  and  these  were  not  the  men 
they  declared  to  be  free  and  equal." 

There  could  not  possibly  have  been  framed 
language  more  insulting  to  the  great  mass  of 
Southern  white  men  than  that  used  by  Mr.  Yan 
cey  at  that  time. 

First,  he  asserts  that  all  the  members  of  the 
Convention  who  formed  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States  were  "  slaveholders  themselves." 

Secondly,  he  asserts  that  they  were  the  "  repre 
sentatives"  of  slaveholders. 

These  two  assertions  taken  together  are  exactly 
the  same  as  to  say  that  there  were  no  non-slave 
holders  in  the  -Convention,  either  as  individuals  or 
as  a  represented  class. 


*  At  Pike's  Opera,  Cincinnati,  October  24,  1860. 


SCENE   THE   FIFTH.  161 

Third,  lie  says  that  these  slaveholders  wrote  it 
down  in  the  Constitution,  that  the  Constitution 
they  formed  was  for  themselves  and  their  posterity. 

This  third  assertion  is  another  way  of  saying 
what  he  had  twice  said  before.  It  also  went  fur 
ther,  and  denied  all  participation  in  the  "  blessings 
of  Liberty"  to  the  non-slaveholders,  the  poor  white 
trash  who  are  lower  than  niggers. 

This  is  again  conveyed  in  the  argument  that  the 
negro — not  being  present  in  the  Convention  either 
individually  or  by  representation — were  not  the 
men  declared  to  be  free  and  equal. 

If  the  negro  was  excluded  from  Liberty,  because 
he  was  not  in  Convention,  then  the  non-slavehold 
er  wTas  excluded,  because  he  (as  Mr.  Yancey  ex 
pressly  said)  was  not  present  in  that  Convention. 

But  Mr.  Yancey  believes,  not  less  than  I  do, 
that  slavery  rests  upon  the  basis  of  negro-inferior 
ity,  therefore,  he  spoke  these  words  against  the 
equality  of  white  men. 

Nationally,  then,  Mr.  Yancey  considers  the 
non-slaveholders  on  a  level  with  the  negro.  Po 
litically,  the  "  poor  white  trash,"  like  myself,  for 
instance,  were  left  entirely  out  of  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States,  and  must  give  way  to  the 
•privileged  class,  who  intended  that  instrument  for 
the  exclusive  benefit  of  "  themselves  and  their 
posterity" 

In  order  to  show  that  I  take  no  unfair  advan 
tage  of  Mr.  Yancey,  I  will  now  proceed  to  notice 
his  actions  subsequent  to  his  words  and  their  con- 
14* 


162  THE    ALABAMA    .REFUGEE. 

nection  with  those  words.  As  "  actions  speak 
louder  than  words,"  the  views  of  Mr.  Yancey  will 
be  best  discovered  in  his  actions,  coupled  with  his 
own  words.  If  the  domineering  exclusiveness  of 
the  cotton-planter  be  patent  all  over  his  speed), 
his  actions  are  the  very  quintessence  of  arrogance 
and  usurpation,  and,  as  I  will  show,  a  downright 
insult  to  every  white  man  who  does  not  plant  cot 
ton.  Remember,  too,  that  the  "Southern  Con 
gress  *'  indorses  Mr.  Yancey. 

Three  months  and  eighteen  days  only  had  elaps 
ed  after  that  speech,  when  Mr.  Yancey  stood  up 
in  the  State  Convention  at  Montgomery,  Alabama, 
and  voted  for  Secession.  He  also  voted  against 
leaving  it  to  the  people  for  a  ratification.  His 
opinions  prevailed.  He  has  now,  having  returned 
from  Europe,  taken  a  seat  in  the  Southern  Con 
gress,  where  he  sustains  his  own  former  course. 

Let  us  paraphrase  his  own  language  in  connec 
tion  with  his  act,  substituting  the  Secession  Con 
vention  for  the  Convention  which  framed  the 
United  States  Constitution : 

"  Who  were  the  delegates  to  that  (Secession, 
Montgomery)  Convention?  There  was  no  non- 
slaveholder  in  that  Convention  which  framed  the 
Secession  ordinance.  There  was  no  hard-handed 
mechanic,  no  hard-working  non-slaveholder  of 
the  South  in  that  traitor  crew.  There  was  nei 
ther  non-slaveholder  nor  mechanic  in  that  Con 
vention  that  framed  the  Secession  ordinance.  But 
these  men  were  (most  emphatically)  the  represent- 


SCENE    THE    FIFTH.  163 

atives  of  slaveholders, — slaveholders  themselves! 
—who  wrote  it  down  that  the  Secession  ordinance 
and  constitution  they  made  were  for  themselves  and 
their  posterity  ! 

"  "Were  they  honest  and  sincere  ?  ~No  man 
(within  their  merciless  and  unauthorized  control) 
dare  say  to-night  that  they  are  not."* 

If  honest  and  sincere,  and  they  made  that  or 
dinance  and  that  Constitution  to  confer  the  bless 
ings  of  "Southern  Independence'' upon  themselves 
and  their  posterity,  then,  most  assuredly,  they 
never  designed  those  documents  for  the  non-slave 
holder,  and  the  non-slaveholder  was  not  the  man 
they  declared  independent. 

See  upon  what  a  shifting  sand  rests  the  fabric 
of  "Southern  Independence"  in  a  "  Southern  Con 
federacy  !" 

If  a  negro  is  unequal  to  a  white  man,  only  he- 
cause  he  was  not  represented  in  the  Convention 
that  framed  the  United  States  Constitution,  how 
can  the  non-slaveholder  be  equal  to  the  slave 
holder,  when  the  former  was  not  represented  in 
the  Secession  Convention  nor  in  the  Southern  Con 
gress  ?  Mr.  Yancey  is  a  palpable  advocate  for 
negro  equality  by  debasing  the  white  man,  even 
while  he  execrates  those  who  advocate  the  same 
t?ting  by  elevating  the  negro.  I  am  not  a  politi 
cal  adherent  of  either  the  one  or  the  other  •  but,  if 


*  One  man  did  and  does  deny  their  honesty,  but  he  writes 
these  words  in  exile. 


164  THE  ALABAMA  REFUGEE. 

I  must  clioose  between  the  degradation  of  my  own 
race,  or  the  elevation  of  the  black,  I  prefer  the 
latter,  as  the  least  of  two  evils.  My  conservatism, 
however,  causes  me  unequivocally  to  condemn 
both  forms  of  negro  equality. 

So  well  did  Mr.  Yancey  reflect  the  true  senti 
ments  and  intentions,  against  what  he  calls  the 
"  poor  white  trash,"  of  the  "  slaveholding  commu 
nity,"  who  employed  him,  that  they  sent  him  to 
Europe  to  represent  "  themselves  and  their  posteri 
ty  abroad  /" 

0  downtrodden,  deceived,   betrayed,  insulted 
"  white  people"  of  the  South  !  those  of  you  who 
have  been  duped  into  shouldering  your  muskets 
for  Secession,  have,  through  passionate  blindness, 
helped  to  forge  the  chain  which  is,  even  now,  eat 
ing  away  the  ankles  of  your  liberties.     Poor  serfs 
that  you  are,  you  have  allowed  yourselves  to  be 
"precipitated  into  a"  political  hell,  from  which 
you  lack  the  spirit  to  declare  yourselves  and  your 
posterity  "  independent." 

1  thank  my  God,  that,  when  the  impartial  pen 
of  history  shall  record  the  transactions  of  Alabama 
through  the  last  presidential  campaign  and  the 
stormy  times  that  succeeded  it,  the  chronicler  will 
be  compelled  to  admit  that  one,  at  least,  of  the 
non-slave-owners  of  that  ill-used  State,  true  to  the 
principles  of  democracy  a*nd  to  his  solemn  and  re 
corded  oath,  defended  his  equality  with  the  plant 
ers  at  the  peril  of  his  life  ;  and,  in  his  speeches  and 
his  acts,  openly  asserted  tlie  personal  independence 


SCES~E   THE   FIFTH.  165 

of  all  white  men  to  be  preferable  to  sectional  inde 
pendence,  individual  equality  to  be  better  than 
State  equality,  and  the  Union  which  combines 
all  the  blessings  Washington  fought  and  Jefferson 
thought  to  secure,  more  to  be  desired  than  all  the 
glittering  but  empty  bribes  of  Secession  !  Yes  ! 
Heaven  be  praised,  that  the  "  former  law-partner 
of  Yancey,  refusing  to  become  his  partner  in 
crime,"  resisted,  at  the  peril  of  his  life,  the  uncon 
stitutional  encroachments  of  the  aristocrats,  as 
anti- American,  and  hostile  to  the  liberties  of  the 
"  people" — the  "  poor  white  trash"  (as  the  master 
of  the  slave  calls  the  master  of  no  slave) ;  and, 
both  with  pen  and  tongue,  labored  to  defeat  the 
machinations  of  the  resident  enemies  of  the  South, 
and  to  overthrow  the  foul  conspiracy  of  the  advo 
cates  of  "  King  Cotton  !" 


SCENE  THE   SIXTH, 


"IN  EXILIUM." 

"  0  unexpected  stroke,  worse  than  of  death ! 
And  must  I  leave  thee,  Paradise  ?  thus  leave 
Thee,  native  soil ;  these  happy  walks  and  shades, 
Fit  haunt  of  gods  ?  where  I  had  hoped  to  spend. 
Quiet,  though  sad,  the  respite  of  that  day, 
That  must  be  mortal  to  us  both." 

PARADISE  LOST. 

"  Home,  kindred,  friends,  and  country — these 

Are  ties  with  which  we  never  part ; 
From  clime  to  clime,  o'er  land  and  seas, 

We  bear  them  with  us  in  our  heart ; 
But  oh !  'tis  hard  to  feel  resigned, 
When  these  must  all  be  left  behind !" 

J.  MONTGOMERY. 

IT  is  unnecessaiy  to  enumerate  all  the  incidents 
of  that  night's  dreary  tramp.  At  about  four 
o'clock,  A.  M.,  we  arrived  at  Benton,  twelve  miles 
from  the  place  of  starting,  and  awaited,  at  "  the 
tavern,"  the  approach  of  dawn  and  of  the  steamer. 

The  steamer,  as  often  occurs,  was  belated.  This 
fact  nearly  cost  me  my  life.  The  news  spread  like 
wildfire  through  the  place  that  "  a  Lincoln-man* 

*  If  doing  all  I  could  to  defeat  Mr.  Lincoln's  election,  for  the 
sake  of  the  Union,  make  me  a  Lincoln-man,  what  does  my  dis 
approval  of  his  usurpations  make  me? 


SCENE    THE    SIXTH.  lf>7 

was  in  town."  The  population,  excited  by  a  thou 
sand  vague  sensations,  gathered  in  knots  to  discuss 
the  incredible  occurrence.  The  news  came  to  the 
committee  that  the  next  boat  would  not  pass  be 
fore  three  o'clock,  P.  M.  They  had  retired  to  bed, 
in  order  to  sleep,  after  their  patriotic  labors  of  the 
preceding  night.  At  this  news,  I  demanded  that 
they  find  some  other  conveyance  than  the  steam 
boat.  "  Why  don't  you  swim  the  river,  sir  ?" 
asked  one.  "Because  I  once  tried  to  swim  the 
river  of  Secession,  and  wTas  washed  ashore  !"  The 
committee  laughed  heartily,  and  sent  one  of  their 
number  down-stairs  on  a  secret  mission.  He  soon 
returned,  and  informed  them  that  the  request  was 
granted.  Through  the  windows  could  be  seen  the 
gathering  mob.  Their  wild  gestures  and  growing 
excitement  were  no  pleasing  spectacle  to  me. 
They  pointed  to  the  house  where  I  wras  a  prisoner. 
One  of  the  committee  was  addressing  them  in 
soothing  tones.  I  could  hear  the  words  "  severely 
punished  already,"  and  "  our  county  has  done  her 
share,"  and  "  other  counties  must,"  and  "  let  him 
go  to  Montgomery." 

At  the  last  words,  a  smile  spread  from  face  to 
face,  and  significant  nods  and  looks  sent  a  thrill  of 
horror  through  my  veins. 

A  hand  was  laid  upon  my  shoulder  : 
"Mr.  Tharin,  would  you  be  willing  to  risk  the 
Montgomery  stage  ?     You'll  be  in  danger  if  you 
stay  here,  and  you  will  run  a  risk  if  you  go  to 
Mon  tgomery 


168  THE    ALABAMA    REFUGEE. 

"  And  I'll  be  hanged  if  I  venture  to  return  to 
Collirene !" 

"Yes,  sir,  and  your  own  choice  must  guide  you." 

"  I'll  take  the  stage." 

"  It  is  at  the  door." 

Through  the  scowling  throng  which  was  collect 
ing  between  the  door  and  the  stage,  the  American 
exile  entered  the  vehicle,  amid  the  growls  and 
execrations  of  his  rebellious  fellow-citizens.  The 
driver  cracked  his  whip,  and  then,  as  the  stage 
sprang  forward  with  a  bounding  oscillation, — 
above  the  roar  of  the  wheels,  above  the  rattling  of 
the  strong  harness,  above  the  tramp  of  the  horses, 
above  the  banging  of  the  luggage,  above  the  wild 
beating  of  my  heart, — I  heard  the  last  shout  which 
ever  greeted  my  ears,  in  times  of  peace,  from  a 
Southern  mob. 

This,  then,  was  the  farewell  which  my  native 
clime  breathed  to  my  departing  form — and  wrhy  ? 

Because  I  had  endeavored  to  vindicate  the  in 
born  rights  of  fourteen -fifteenths  of  that  mob, 
without  subtracting  from  the  equal  rights  of  the 
other  fifteenth.* 

In  other  words,  I  had  discovered  an  unpopular 
truth,  for  the  reception  of  which  the  public  mind 
was  unprepared.  The  mists  of  error  were  not  yet 
pierced  by  the  rising  sun  of  political  enlighten 
ment.  But  think  not,  misguided  men,  that  by 
driving  into  exile  the  first  Southern  man  who  ever 

*  See  p.  48,  ante. 


SCENE   THE    SIXTH.  169 

practically  grasped  the  idea  of  the  non-slave 
holder's  rights  and  the  non-slaveholder's  power, 
that  yon  have  extinguished  the  holy  beams  of 
truth,  or  unseated  from  his  eternal  throne  that 
God  who  dwellcth  in  the  truth !  As  surely  as  that 
God  reigneth,  will  come  a  day  when  the  clouds 
will  be  rolled  away  from  the  door  of  Liberty's 
temple,  and  the  non-slaveholder  shall  enter  there, 
with  the  song  of  true  Southern  Rights  upon  his 
lips.  That  day  is  not  far  distant,  and  perhaps 
those  very  men  who  hissed  his  retiring  form  wTill 
live  to  hang  their  heads  in  shame,  when  the  re 
turning  footsteps  of  "  the  Alabama  Refugee"  shall 
be  pressed  once  more  on  his  native  soil,  while  the 
secret  conspirators,  who  "precipitated  the  Cotton 
States  into  an  (unnecessary)  revolution,"  will  hide 
their  diminished  heads  in  the  dens  and  caves  of 
public  scorn  ! 

There  was  no  other  passenger  in  the  stage.  It 
was  cold — at  least,  I  had  lost  sleep,  food,  repose 
of  mind,  and  a  chill,  like  death's  breath,  perme 
ated  my  bones.  My  thoughts  were  busy  and  tu 
multuous.  While  actual  danger  had  confronted 
me,  I  had,  from  necessity,  concealed  my  fears, 
and  unflinchingly  breasted  my  advancing  fate; 
but,  now,  the  eyes  of  the  mob  and  of  the  com 
mittee  no  longer  glaring  upon  me,  in  the  ab 
sence  of  any  guard,  any  present  peril — reaction 
came  ! 

To  those,  who  have  suffered  days  of  intense 
anxiety,  nights  of  sleepless  vigil,  and  hours  of  un- 
15 


170  THE    ALABAMA   REFUGEE. 

ceasing  suspense,  tins  terrible  word  will  require  no 
explanation.  The  nerve  that  has  met  and  sustain 
ed  a  long-continued  tension,  then  relaxes;  the  will 
that  met  the  crisis  with  unbending  power,  then 
yields  to  temporary  prostration  ;  the  brain  that 
energized  with  that  sudden  and  wonderful  inspira 
tion,  imminent  danger  sometimes  bestows,  then 
sinks  into  a  kind  of  collapse,  and  the  heart,  that 
seemed  encased  in  adamant,  then  melts. 

Through  the  corridors  of  memory  rushed  a  host 
of  throng-ing:  images. 

o        O  O 

I  thought  of  my  childhood's  home. 

In  the  far,  far  distance — beyond  the  tree-crown 
ed  hills  on  my  right ;  beyond  the  turgid  waters  of 
the  Alabama,  now  receding  into  the  distance; 
beyond  the  brown  cotton-stalks  which  rotted  in 
their  furrows,  on  both  sides  of  the  road  ;  beyond 
the  reach  of  all  save  imagination — was  the  "  Queen 
city  of  the  South." 

On  the  northern  extreme  of  the  city  of  Charles 
ton,  S.  C.,  stands  the  venerable  colonial  farm-house 
in  which  "the  exile*'  drew  his  first  breath.  In 
and  around  that  classic  spot,  had  raged  the  con 
flicts  of  "  '76,"  and  its  owner,  my  lineal  ancestor, 
Col.  Cunnington,  had  spent  fortunes  and  poured 
out  his  blood  for  the  freedom  and  equality  of  the 
very  South  Carolinians,  some  of  whose  unnatural 
sons,  true  to  the  instincts  of  their  tory  progenitors, 
and  to  the  hereditary  desire  that  "  one  of  the  royal 
family  of  England  should  rule  over  them,"  hud 
wantonly  sacrificed  all  the  blessings  the  "  whigs" 


SCENE    THE    SIXTH.  171 

of  '76  had  won  through  a  seven  years'  war  with 

CT>  «/ 

the  British  and  tories. 

In  the  Claude-Loraine-glass  of  Memory,  how 
plainly  rose  iield,  mill,  forest,  stream,  and  groye ! 
Alas!  would  my  feet  never  more  wander  through 
the  "  avenue,"  the  "  cottage  lane  *"  Would  the 
breezes  of  the  "  Belvidere*' never  inore  lift  these 
storm-tossed  locks  with  their  perfumed  wings'? 
Would  the  jessamines  still  bloom  where  the  soli 
tudes  speak  in  the  diapason  of  waving  pines — but 
never  more  for  me?  Would  the  mocking-birds 

£"> 

mourn  my  absence?  Alas  !  the  tread  of  rebellion 
is  all  over  that  soil  which,  in  1776,  drank  the 
blood  of  my  Union  progenitors,  and  the  tory  de 
scendants  of  tory  sires  will  wander  through  the 
scenes  of  my  childhood  and  call  it  the  natal  place 
of  a — traitor! 

God  of  lleavcn  !  wither  the  lip  that  dares  thus 
to  desecrate  the  grave  of  the  Revolutionary  hero 
who  died  in  the  Union  he  helped  to  frame,  the 
cradle  of  my  Union  father,  and  the  monument  of 
Francis  Marion ! 

/—"  a  traitor  ?"  To  ichat  am  I  a  traitor?  To 
the  South?  Thou  liest,  perjured  spawn  of  a  base 
tory,  or  degenerate  offspring  of  a  whig  patriot! 
THE  SOUTH  CONSISTS  OF  IIKB  SONS,  and  thou  knowest, 
and  treinblest  when  thou  knowest,  that  the  non- 
slaveholding  population  of  her  hills  and  her  val 
leys,  of  her  cities  and  her  villages,  far  outnumber 
the  planters,  who,  with  brazen  front,  ejaculate — 
u  li  o  are  the  South;"*  while  echo,  through  the 


172  THE    ALABAMA.    REFUGEE. 

lungs     of    Jefferson    Davis,    consumptively    re 
sponds  : 

L'etat,— c'est  MOI ! 

Sorrow  next  washed  out  the  flush  of  a  just  in 
dignation  ;  for  I  thought  of  my  sacred  dead  !  The 
very  ashes  of  my  father,  which  still  repose — un 
easily  repose — in  a  Charleston  sepulcher,  would 
probably  never  feel  the  returning  presence  of 
these  pilgrim  feet.  The  funeral  pall  of  Secession 
had  been  drawn  over  South  Carolina,  and  had 
concealed,  in  a  second  burial,  the  hallowed  dust 
of  my  father.  That  dear  father  had  ever  been 
a  Union  man !  In  1832,  when  Nullification 
barricaded  the  streets  of  Charleston,  that  father 
acted,  voted,  and  triumphed  with  the  Unionists — 
although  the  only  one  of  four  brothers  who  was 
not  a  Nullifier.  How  appropriate  that  his  son 
should  be  a  Unionist  in  1861,  and  sustain  that 
father's  and  his  own  conscientious  convictions, 
with  the  loss  of  every  thing,  save  honor,  men  hold 
dear. 

I  felt  an  invisible  presence  with  me  in  the  stage, 
sustaining  my  spirit  with  sympathy  and  guardian 
love.  I  breathed  a  prayer  to  heaven  and  took 
fresh  courage.  I  remembered  how  I  had  ever 
been  a  victim  of  the  gens  patriciana  of  the  South, 
how  the  oligarchy  had  affected  to  despise  me,  or, 
when  compelled  to  admit  my  equality,  to  "  damn 
me  with  faint  praise,"  and  my  soul  grew  stern 
with  a  sense  of  wrong. 

The  stage  was  rumbling  along  the  lonely  road, 


SCENE    THE    SIXTH.  173 

but  thought  was  traveling  within  it  with  a  speed 
which  human  ingenuity  has  not  yet  rivaled. 

o  t>  */ 

Again  I  wandered,  a  buoyant  youth,  within  the 
beloved  precincts  of  my  Alma  Mater. 

A  lovely  morning  beams  upon  the  Queen  city 
of  the  South.  Upon  the  porch  of  the  College  of 
Charleston  stand  a  throng  of  students.  With  one 
exception,  they  are  all  richly  dressed.  The  con 
versation  is  somewhat  noisy.  Asks  one  : 

"Tom,  when  are  you  going  to  Edisto  ?" 

"  Whenever  we  can  sell  our  land  at  Wadma- 
law." 

"  How  much  do  you  ask  ?" 

"Fifty  thousand!" 

"  Quite  a  sacrifice  at  that.  How  many  negroes 
do  you  move?" 

"  One  hundred  and  ten,  big  and  little." 

lou  should  have  witnessed  his  inflation  when 
he  gave  the  last  answer. 

"  John,"  exclaimed  a  well-dressed  but  effemi 
nate  youth,  "let's  compare  'nigger-rolls.'" 

"Done!" 

Each  having  given  his  numeral,  there  was  but 
one  left,  who  had  not  entered  at  all  into  the  com 
petition.  To  him  turned  the  youth,  who  had  de 
manded  the  comparison,  and  said,  while  his  com 
panions  barely  suppressed  a  titter : 

"Tharin,  how  many  niggers  have  you  f" 

The  youth  addressed  was  about  eighteen  years 
of  age.  His  collegiate  expenses  were  defrayed  by 
his  own  efforts.  He  wrote  for  lawyers,  and  thus 


174  THE  ALABAMA.  REFUGEE. 

acquired  the  means  to  obtain  his  much  coveted 
education.  He  had  made  many  sacrifices — health 
amo-no"  the  number — for  this  precious  boon.  His 
dress,  although  clean  and  neat,  was  unequal  to 
the  broadcloth  decorations  of  his  bejeweled  com 
panions.  Every  student  in  the  institution  knew 
that  he  was  not  wealthy,  and  his  flushed  cheek 
and  flashing  eye  sufficiently  betokened  the  smart, 
which  had  been  wantonly,  and  not  for  the  first  or 
last  time  inflicted  npon  his  sensitive  feelings. 
Drawing  himself  up  to  his  full  height,  he  replied 
in  firm  but  low  tones : 

"I  do  not  award  the  importance  to  " Ethiopian 
attachments"  which  some  do.  I  depend  npon 
what  I  am,  not  on  what  my  father  hax.  It  is  a 
mark  of  a  very  diminutive  character  to  triumph 
over  honest  men  because  of  adventitious  posses 
sions.  If  I  can  but  successfully  imitate  the  deeds 
of  my  forefathers,  I  do  not  need  to  inherit  their 
money.  I  can  make  my  living." 

Not  many  years  passed  away,  and  that  same 
youth  discovered  that  success  in  South  Carolina 
intrinsically  depends  upon  those  very  "Ethiopian 
attachments"  he  so  heroically  despised.  On  this 
very  account  he  had  found  it  advisable  to  emi 
grate  to  Alabama,  there  to  find  all  the  pride  and 
arrogance  of  the  cotton-planter,  without  the  ex 
tenuation  of  the  refinement  of  the  South  Carolina 
patrician;  and,  after  a  stern,  and,  of  course,  un 
successful  effort  to  maintain  his  own  blood-bought 
rights  against  their  steady  encroachments,  was 


SCENE    THE    SIXTH.  I  <  O 

now  their  persecuted  victim,  because  lie  preferred 
liis  privileges  as  an  American  citizen  to  all  the 
"glittering  generalities"  of  Secession — clinging, 
like  a  drowning  man,  to  the  former  as  the  only 
plank  that  could  save  him  from  the  law-submer 
ging  billows  of  the  latter. 

"With  panoramic  suddenness  another  scene  rose 
before  my  vision : 

A  wife  and  little  daughter  are  seated  before  a 
fire  in  a  neighboring  town.  They  are  alone.  The 
little  girl  sits  by  her  mothers  chair  on  a  low  stool, 
which  she  has  placed  for  the  purpose,  her  black 
eyes  beaming  with  affectionate  intelligence.  Her 
mother  is  telling  her  that  her  father  will  soon  re 
turn,  and  bring  her  a  present,  if  she  will  be  a  good 
little  girl.  The  child's  innocent  prattle  tills  the 
apartment.  She  is  a  sweet  little  thing  about  two 
years  old,  her  auburn  hair  curling  around  her  sym 
metrical  bead,  and  her  little  hands  gesticulating 
gracefully,  as,  in  musical  syllables,  she  paints  her 
bright  thoughts. 

The  door  opens.  The  child  springs  up  and  ex 
claims  : 

"  Mamma,  papa's  come  !" 

But,  no !  it  is  a  pale  and  excited  face  that  ap 
pears  at  the  portal — a  face  that  brings  a  gloom 
into  the  room.  By  the  magnetism  of  that  face 
the  child  is  silenced. 

"Mother,"  cries  the  wife,  "what's  the  mat 
ter?" 

"  Prepare  yourself,  my  daughter,  for  bad  news." 


176  THE    ALABAMA    REFUGEE. 

"  Is  my  husband  dead  ?"  she  gasps.  "  Tell  me ! 
oh,  do  not  keep  me  in  suspense!" 

';  He  is  worse  than  dead." 

The  wife  falls  back  with  an  agonized  shriek,  the 
child  screams  and  weeps  with  an  undefined  dread, 
and — the  occupant  of  the  stage  starts  up  with  a 
groan  and  recovers  from  his  vision. 

Suddenly  the  stage  stops. 

One  of  the  two  men  on  the  driver's  box,  dis 
mounts  and  comes  round  to  the  door  and  gazes  in 
tently  at  the  sufferer.  A  tear  starts  involuntarily 
to  his  eye  as  lie  sees  his  passenger  convulsively 
sobbing. 

Returning  to  his  place  he  is  heard  to  ejaculate, 
"  poor  fellow,"  and  the  stage  rolls  on. 

From  my  portmanteau  I  drew  a  pair  of  black 
pants  and  exchanged  for  them  the  light  purple 
pair  I  then  wore ;  drew  off  iny  overcoat  and  re 
placed  my  beaver  hat  with  a  light  blue  cloth  cap. 

As  I  was  replacing  the  articles  I  had  removed 
from  the  valise,  my  hand  encountered  a  book, 
which  unknown  to  me,  some  one,  probably  my 
dear  mother,  had  placed  therein.  I  drew  it  forth 
and  gazed  upon  a  copy  of  the  Holy  Bible.  "What 
early  associations  did  that  book  recall  to  my  mind ! 
All  the  reverence  of  early  youth  was  added  to  the 
interest  with  which  I  looked  upon  the  gift.  It 
was  long  before  I  could  collect  my  thoughts  suffi 
ciently  to  view  the  inside.  I  felt  a  strange  pre 
sentiment  that  the  Book  would  say  something  good 
to  my  bleeding  heart,  and  to  myself  I  said  that  I 


SCENE   THE   SIXTH.  177 

would  read  whatever  part  I  opened  it  at — hoping 
to  open  it  at  the  Psalms  of  David. 

I  opened  it  carefully,  and  was  disappointed  to 
find  before  me  the  seventeenth  chapter  of  the 
Book  of  the  Prophet  Ezekiel,  which  I  began  to 
read  with  impatience ;  but,  as  I  progressed,  the 
great  significance  of  the  chapter  and  its  adaptation 
to  my  own  views,  comforted  me  no  little.  I  will 
here  insert  what  I  that  day  read,  and  ask  the  read 
er  whether  it  be  not  a  remarkably  correct  history 
of  this  Rebellion,  and  a  perfect  description  of  what 
I  shall  call 

THE  RISE,  PROGRESS,  AND  FALL  OF  KING  COTTON, 
Predicted,  and  minutely  described  in  the  Holy  Bible. 

EZEKIEL,  CHAPTER   XVII. 

PARABLE     OF     THE     TWO    EAGLES. 

1  And  the  word  of  the  Lord  came  unto  me,  saying, 

2  Son  of  man,  put  fortli  a  riddle,  and  speak  a  parable 
unto  the  house  of  Israel ; 

1  3  And  say,  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God  ;  A  great  eagle 
with  great  wings,  long-winged,  full  of  feathers,  which  had 
divers  colours,  came  unto  Lebanon,  and  took  the  highest 
branch  of  the  cedar  : 

4  lie  cropped  off  the  top11  of  his  young  twigs,  and 


1  3d  v.  A  perfect  description  of  the  American  Eagle — the  na 
tional  escutcheon.     Congress  passed  resolutions  on  the  subject. 
Lebanon,   By   metonomy,   for   the   East.     Cedar,  commercial 
prosperity. 

2  The  highest  commercial  prosperity. 


THE   ALABAMA    REFUGEE. 

carried  it  into  a  land  of  traffic1  ;  he  set  it  in  a  city  of 
merchants. 

2  5  He  took  also  of  the  seed3  of  the  land,  and  planted 
it  in  a  fruitful  field  ;  he  placed  it  by  great  waters,  and 
set  it  as  a  willow-tree. 

6  And  it  grew,  and  became  a  spreading  vine  of  low 
stature,  whose  branches  turned  toward  him,  and  the  roots 
thereof  were  under  him  :  so  it  became  a  vine,  and  brought 
forth  branches,  and  shot  forth  sprigs. 

4  7  There  was  also  another  great  eagle  with  great  wings 
and  many  feathers  :  and  behold,  this  vine  did  bend  her 
roots  toward  him,  and  shot  forth  her  brandies  toward  him, 
that  he  might  water  it  by  the  furrows  of  her  plantation. 

8  It  was  planted  in  a  good  soil  by  great  waters,  that 
it  might  bring  forth  branches,  and  that  it  might  bear 
fruit,  that  it  might  be  a  goodly  vine. 

5  9  Say  them,  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God  ;  Shall  it  pros 
per  ?  shall  he  not  pull  up  the  roots  thereof,  and  cut  off 
the  fruit  thereof,  that  it  wither?  it  shall  wither  in  all  the 
leaves  of  her  spring,  even  without  great  power  or  many 
people  to  pluck  it  up  by  the  roots  thereof. 

10  Yea,  behold,  being  planted,  shall  it  prosper?  shall 
it  not  utterly  wither,  when  the  east  wind  toucheth  it  ?  it 
shall  wither  in  the  furrows  where  it  grew. 

1  The  United  States. 

2  5th,  6th,  and  8th  v.  A  perfect  description  of  the  Cotton  Plant, 
5  Cotton  seed,  introduced  into  the  country  by  congressional 

enactment — by  the  American  Eagle. 

4  7th  v.  The  "  Confederate  States"  under  the  symbol  of  an 
Eagle,  seceded  from  the  "  divers  colors"  mentionee  in  v.  8, 
but  omitted  in  tins  connection. 

5  9th,  10th  v.  The  downfall  of  Cotton  predicted  from  Ang'lo- 
Indian  competition,  and,  now  let  me  add,  the  blockade. 


SCENE    THE    SIXTH.  170 

111  Moreover  the  word  of  the  Lord  came  unto  m:>, 
paying, 

12  Say  now  to  the  rebellious  house,1  Know  ye  not  what 
these   things  mean  ?     Tell  them,  Behold,  the  king  of 
Babylon*  is  come  to  Jerusalem?  and  hath  taken  the  kiny4 
thereof,  and  thcjprmces5  thereof,  and  led  them  with  him 
to  Babylon.6 

13  And  hath  taken  of  the  king's  seed,'  and  made  a 
covenant8  with  him,  and  hath  taken  an  oath  of  him  ;  he 
hath  also  taken  the  mighty  of  the  land, 

14  That  the  kingdom  might  be  base,9  that  it  might 
not  lift  itself  up,  but  that  by  keeping  of  his  covenant  it 
might  stand. 

15  But  he  rebelled  against  him  in  sending  his  ambas 
sadors  into  Egypt,™  that  they  might  give  him  horses  and 
much  people.     Shall  he  prosper?  shall  he  escape  that 
doeth  such  things  ?  or,  shall  he  break  the  covenant,  and 
be  delivered? 

1G  Ax  I  live,  saith  the  Lord  God,  surely  in  the  place11 
where  the  king**  dicclleth  that  made  himn  king,  whose 


1  11  tli,  12th  v.   Why  is  "the  rebellious  house"  mentioned 
here,  in  connection  with  the  two  Eagles  and  the  "  spreading 
vine  of  low  stature,"  unless  the  above  comments  be  true  ? 

2  King  Cotton.  3  Washington.  4  Buchanan. 
•r>  M.  C.  and  cabinet.                        8  Montgomery,  Alabama. 

7  John  C<  BreckenridgO-,  Vice  President. 

8  Secret  League.     Breckenridge  hesitated,  but  finally  took 
the  oath. 

0  This  word,  "base,"  which  could  not  otherwise  be  under 
stood,  is  now  plain. 

10  The  House  of  Bondage,  where  the  oppressed  non-slave 
owners  dwell  in  all  the  beauty  of  negro  equality. 

11  Montgomery.          ]~  King-  rotten.         l3  Jefferson,  Davis. 


180  TIIK    ALABAMA    REFUGEE. 

oath  he1  despised,  and  whose  covenant2  he  brake,  even 
with  him  in  the  midst  of  Babylon3  he4  shall  die. 

11  Neither  shall  Pharaoh5  with  his  mighty  army  and 
great  company,  make  for  him  in  the  war,  by  casting  up 
mounts,  and  building  forts,  to  cut  off  many  persons  : 

18  Seeing  he  despised  the  oath6  by  breaking  the  cove 
nant,  when  lo,  he  had  given  his  hand,  and  hath  done  all 
these  things,  he7  shall  not  escape. 

19  Therefore,  thus  saith  the  Lord  God;   As  I  live, 
surely  mine  oath6  that  he  hath  despised,  and  my  cove 
nant  that  he  hath  broken,  even  it  will  I  recompense  upon 
his  own  head. 

20  And  I  will  spread  my  net9  upon  him,  and  he  shall 
be  taken  in  my  snare,10  and  I  will  bring  him  to  Babylon, 
and  will  plead  with  him  there  for  his  trespass  that  he  hath 
trespassed  against  me. 

21  And  all  his  fugitives  with  all  his  bands  shall  fall  by 
the    sword,   and   they   that   remain   shall   be    scattered 
toward  all  winds  :  and  ye  shall  know  that  I  the  Lord" 
have  spoken  it, 

12  22  If  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God  :  I  will  also  take  of 

I  King  Cotton.  '  The  oath  of  U.  S.  Senator. 

3  Montgomery.      By  10th  and  llth  verses  of  chapter  xi., 
changed  to  Richmond,  Va. 
.    4  He  (Breckenridge)  shall  die.  5  Beauregard. 

6  Oath  of  U.  B.  Officer.  7  Beauregard. 

8  The  oaths  of  office  end  with  "  So  help  me  God !" 

0  See  10th  verse. 

10  "  The  wicked  shall  lay  a  snare  for  their  own  feet." 

II  21st  v.  No  party,  no  leader,  no  army,  can  claim  the  victory, 
but  the  Lord  alone  will  create  a  reaction  and  prove  to  the 
world  how  insignificant  are  the  rulers  whom  the  American 
people  have  elevated  to  power. 

12  From  the  22d  to  the  24th  verses,  inclusive,  constitutes  a 


SCENE   THE   SIXTH.  181 

the  highest  branch  of  the  high  cedar,  and  will  set  it ;  I 
will  crop  off  from  the  top  of  his  young  twigs  a  tender 
one,  and  will  plant  it  upon  an  high  mountain  and  eminent : 

23  In  the  mountain  of  the  height  of  Israel  will  I  plant 
it  :   and  it  shall  bring  forth  boughs,  and  bear  fruit,  and 
be  a  goodly  cedar  :  and  under  it  shall  dwell  all  fowl  of 
every  wing  :  in  the  shadow  of  the  branches  thereof  shall 
they  dwell. 

24  And  all  the  trees  of  the  field  shall  know  that  I  the 
Lord  have  brought  down  the  high  tree,  have  exalted  the 
low  tree,  have  dried  up  the  green  tree,  and  have  made 
the  dry  tree  to  flourish  :  I  the  Lord  have  spoken  and 
have  done  it. 


promise  of  a  better  day,  when  "peace,  unity,  and  concord" 
shall  render  the  land  again  prosperous,  after  Radicalism  shall 
have  been  abated — and  in  all  this  the  emancipation  of  the 
negro  is  not  once  hinted  at  by  the  holy  prophet. 

The  five  last  verses  of  the  twentieth  chapter  of  the  same 
Prophet,  serve  as  a  key  to  the  above  by  using  the  very  nomen 
clature  of  these  times : 

"  CHAP,  xx.,  v.  45  ^  Moreover  the  word  of  the  Lord  came 
unto  me,  saying, 

"  46  Son  of  man,  set  thy  face  toward  the  South,  and  drop 
thy  word  toward  the  South,  and  prophesy  against  the  forest  of 
the  South  field: 

"  47  And  say  to  the  forest  of  the  South,  Hear  the  word  of  the 
Lord  ;  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God ;  Behold,  I  will  kindle  a  fire  in 
thee*  and  it  shall  devour  every  green  tree  in  thce,  and  every 
dry  tree  :  the  flaming  flame  shall  not  be  quenched,  and  all 
faces  from  the  South  to  the  North  shall  be  burned  therein. 

"  48  And  all  flesh  shall  see  that  I  the  Lord  have  kindled  it : 
it  shall  not  be  quenched. 

"  49  Then  said  I,  Ah,  Lord  God !  they  say  of  me,  Doth  he  not 
speak  parables  ?" 

*  I  will  fire  the  Southern  heart.     Cotton  shall  be  consumed. 

10 


182          THE  ALABAMA  REFUGEE. 

At  a  half-way  station  on  the  road,  the  stage 
halted  for  the  customary  change  of  horses.  Here 
I  found  an  individual  emerging  from  the  half-way 
house  leading  a  fleet-looking  horse,  covered  with 


The  Book  of  the  Prophet  Ezekiel  is  a  received  portion  of 
the  Holy  Bible.  The  Bible  is  every  day  held  up  to  us  as  a 
divine  book,  and  yet  very  few  persons  trouble  themselves  as 
to  whether  this  divine  book  relates  to  them.  This  same  care 
less  and  superficial  view  of  Scripture  leads  many  persons  to 
pass  by  the  prophecies  as  already  fulfilled  or  relating  to  the 
Day  of  Judgment,  but  having  no  present  signification  what 
ever.  The  Bible,  on  the  contrary,  must  refer  to  our  country 
in  some  part  of  it,  or  else  it  is  a  defective  work.  The  prophet 
E/ekiel  has  certainly  given  some  very  wonderful  and  correct 
delineations  of  our  own  times,  not  only  in  the  passages  just 
quoted  entire,  but  also  in  the  whole  prophecy. 

The  scope  of  the  present  undertaking  precludes  a  lengthy 
commentary  upon  a  whole  division  of  Holy  Writ ;  but  the 
reader  is  merely  referred  to  the  following  chapters  as  corrob 
orative  of  what  has  already  been  advanced.  He  will  find  that 
they  will  richly  repay  scrutiny. 

Chapters  i.  and  x.  describe,  under  the  symbol  of  four  cheru 
bim,  the  four  sections  of  this  country ;  while  a  wheel  within  a 
wheel,  an  imperium  in  imperio,  describes  the  States  contained 
in  the  Union. 

Chapters  ii.  and  iii.  -  The  commission  of  Ezekiel.  The  roll 
to  be  eaten  was  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States. 

Chapters  iv.,  v.,  vi.,  vii.  A  miserable  picture  of  disunion 
and  its  bloody  effects. 

Chapter  viii.  Jealousy  of  the  North,  and  mobocracy  in  the 
South.  Verse  16,  foreign  intervention  asked.  Removal  of 
capital  from  Montgomery  to  Richmond,  Va.  The  punishment 
*of  Rebellion  described. 

Chapter  xiii.     The  Secession  orators  rebuked. 

Chapter  xiv.  The  negro  idolaters  of  the  North  rebuked. 
The  Nativity  of  the  United  States,  and  her  prostitution  to  the 


SCENE    THE    SIXTH.  183 

foam.  He  rested  his  eyes  upon  me,  and  seemed 
to  approve  of  my  general  appearance,  for  lie  smiled 
and  nodded  kindly  as  lie  said  : 

"  Mister,  where  do  you  intend  to  go  to !" 

"  I'm  bound  for  Montgomery." 

u  Where  are  you  from  ?" 

"I  am  from  Charleston,  whither  I  will  soon  re 
turn." 

"I  have  a  fine  horse  here,  you  may  have  cheap. 
Maybe  you  loill  need  Mm  before  you  (jet  -very  far 
from  here" 

a  I  am  not  prepared  to  purchase  now.  I  don't 
think  I  will  need  a  horse  very  soon  ;  but  he  is  a 
noble  animal. 

"  He  is  only  six  years  old,  and  of  good  breed. 
You  may  have  him  for  ninety  dollars ;  I  have  a 
strong  saddle  and  bridle  you  can  buy  for  fifteen." 


"  almighty  dollar."  Verso  46,  Samaria,  intended  to  mean 
Mexico. 

Chapter  xviii.     Repentance  will  be  met  with  mercy. 

Chapters  xxvi.,  xxvii.,  xxviii.  England's  power  and  ruin 
graphically  described. 

Chapters  xv.,  xxii.  Minute  description  of  the  rise,  progress, 
and  fall  of  King  Cotton. 

Chapters  xxxi.,  xxxii.  Minute  description  of  the  power  of 
King  Cotton,  and  the  lamentations  of  his  admirers  over  his  fall. 

Chapter  xxxiii.  An  exhortation  to  the  people  of  the  whole 
country. 

Chapter  xxxiv.  The  pulpit  politicians  rebuked,  North  and 
South. 

Chapter  xxxv.     France  and  her  rapacious  policy  denounced. 

Chapters  xxxvi.,  xxxvii.,  xxxix.  Reunion  beautifully  de 
scribed. 


184  THE  ALABAMA  REFUGEE. 

"  A  bargain,  no  doubt;  but  I  am  not  purchas 
ing  tins  evening." 

"  Any  time  in  two  days,  you  can  find  him  in 
Montgomery,  if  you  want  him.  Enquire  for  John 
Raymond,  and  you'll  find  me." 

"  Very  well,  I  will  remember  that." 

"  You  say  you're  from  Charleston  ?  How  are 
they  getting  on  at  Fort  Sumter?" 

Looking  with  scrutiny  upon  my  interlocutor,  I 
said : 

"We're  'casting  up  mounts  and  building  forts 
to  cut  off'  Anderson's  supplies.  The  lighted  match 
is  already  held  over  the  touch-hole.  The  first  gun 
of  a  mighty  revolution  may  even  now  be  booming 
across  the  Bay.  How  are  you  affected  at  the 
prospect  out  here  ?" 

A  curious  smile  flitted  across  his  face,  as  the 
stranger  said  in  a  voice  which  was  as  much  like  a 
taunt  as  a  certain  covert  exultation  could  render  it: 

"  Bully  for  you  !  " 

I  felt  the  startled  blood  rush  from  my  face  to 
my  heart,  which  beat  a  rat-tat-too  against  my  side 
• — was  I  discovered  f 

My  feelings  were  not  rendered  pleasanter  by 
the  suppressed  laughter  of  the  two  stage-drivers, 
who  evidently  heard  every  word. 

I  was  reassured,  however,  by  the  discovery  that 
my  interlocutor  seemed  as  much  annoyed  by  the 
eavesdropping  as  myself. 

"  Have  you  much  experience  in  horses?"  I  de 
manded,  in  order  to  escape  the  oppressive  silence. 


SCENE   THE    SIXTH.  185 

"I  used  to  drive  the  stage  on  tlie  Nashville  and 
Chattanooga  line." 

Soon  the  stage  was  on  its  way  Montgomery- 
ward.  I  looked  back  from  the  window,  and  saw 
John  Eaymond  saddling  his  horse,  and  gazing  at 
the  stage  with  an  excited  air,  to  me  inexplicable. 
His  motions  were  convulsive  and  hurried,  and  he 
seemed  fevered  by  some  secret  emotion  which,  at 
times,  broke  out  into  kicks  administered  to  his 
spirited  steed. 

Could  it  be,  thought  I,  that  all  this  indignation 
was  the  result  of  my  refusal  to  purchase  his  horse? 

I  drew  no  good  augury  from  this  mental  reply : 

"He  must  be  a  spy  !"* 

After  about  a  half-hour's  ride,  one  of  the  men 
in  front  called  aloud  to  me  to  come  outside,  as 
I  would  suffer,  if  I  did  not,  from  the  rough 
"puncheon"  or  "  corduroy"  road  we  were  about 
to  traverse.  Not  desiring  to  be  visible  to  passers- 
by,  I  declined.  The  invitation  was  repeated  at 
various  points  on  the  road,  until,  finding  my  re 
fusal  annoyed  the  men,  I  went  out  and  ran  the 
gauntlet  of  about  a  mile,  when,  complaining  of 
the  cold,  I  re-entered  the  stage. 

A  significant  look  passed  between  my  conduc 
tors  as  I  sprang  into  the  coach,  which  was  not 
particularly  gratifying  to  my  feelings.  I  began 
to  doubt  their  disposition  to  serve  a  fellow-creature 

*  How  often  have  I  had  the  same  suspicion  when  convers 
ing  with  Northern  Radicals ! 

16* 


186  THE  ALABAMA  REFUGEE. 

in  distress  ;  but  I  resolved  to  show  no  mortification 
or  displeasure  at  their  manners  toward  myself. 

Of  course,  invention  was  busy  in  my  brain  as 
to  what  I  should  do  upon  my  arrival  at  the  capital 
of  the  so-called  Confederate  States.  1  was  well 
known  at  Montgomery  among  the  public  men  ; 
but  these  were  the  very  men  to  avoid,  not  to  ap 
ply  to. 

To  illustrate  the  danger  I  was  about  to  encoun 
ter,  I  must  here  digress  from  the  thread  of  my 
narrative  to  a  scene  not  very  long  antecedent  to 
the  point  the  reader  has  reached. 

The  Democratic  State  Convention  had  sent  its 
delegates  to  what  many  of  them  fondly  hoped 
would  prove  the  last  of  the  National  Conventions 
of  that  party,*  and,  in  consequence  of  the  prede 
termined  disruption  of  the  Charleston  Convention, 
another  Democratic  Convention  had  been  assem 
bled  at  Montgomery,  "  to  see  what  was  best  to  be 
done." 

To  that  large  Convention  I  was  a  delegate  and 
offered  a  series  of  resolutions  to  the  Assembly,  ad 
vocating  a  proposition  by  Alabama  to  her  sister 
States,  North  and  South,  for  a  National  Con  veil, 
tion,  for  the  purpose  of  proposing  amendments  to 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States. 

During  the  speech  which,  in  favor  of  peaceful 
and  conciliatory  measures,  I  attempted  to  make, 


*  But,  by  the  grace  of  God,  that  hope  will  doubtless  be 
frustrated. 


SCENE    THE    SIXTH.  187 

there  was  a  universal  confusion.  The  Convention 
was  not  permitted  to  listen  because  certain  emis 
saries  of  Yaneey  passed  rapidly  around  the  room, 
and  informed  the  audience  in  audible  stage-asides 
that  YanceAj  wanted  to  speak.  I  had  not  spoken 
more  than  three  minutes,  when  the  whole  Conven 
tion  became  convulsed  with  stormy  excitement. 
Cries  of  "Yancey,"  "  Yancey  !"  shook  the  dome 
of  the  capitol.  rinding  it  in  vain  to  proceed 
in  the  teeth  of  so  strong  a  determination  to  re 
ject  my  resolutions  without  a  hearing,  I  ex 
claimed  : 

"  One  word,  if  you  please — only  one  !  "Words 
of  wisdom  sometimes  fall  from  the  lips  of  persons 
who  are  unblessed  with  plantations.  If  cotton 
must  be  King  here,  and,  if  none  but  his  courtiers 
can  speak  (cries  of  "none  else,"  and  "Yancey"), 
let  the  result  be  noted  on  the  page  of  history.  I 
wash  my  hands  of  all  personal  responsibility. 
Proceed  with  your  wild  work.  Youthful  pru 
dence  retires  abashed  from  the  presence  of  hoary 
"precipitancy." 

Mr.  Yancey,  amid  an  ovation  of  applause,  then 
rose,  and  advocated  his  own  views,  to  the  delight 
of  the  courtiers  of  his  "  King."  He  was  not  as 
happy  in  his  speech  as  usual ;  but  he  had  won 
the  approbation  of  the  cotton-planters  by  his  anti- 
democratical  course  in  Charleston,  and  was  ap 
plauded  to  the  echo  by  those  whose  unconstitu 
tional  power  he  was  so  ably  supporting. 

Having   temporarily    ceased    to    act   with   the 


188  THE   ALABAMA   EEFTJGEE. 

Democratic  Party,  which,  during  the  period  of  its 
dislocation,  could  not  effect  any  thing  for  the 
<Union  which  I  had  sworn  to  support, — hut  to 
which  party  I  now  publicly  and  solemnly  renew 
my  adherence,  as  to  the  only  one  which  possesses 
within  itself  the  ingredients  of  Nationality  and 
Union, — I  spoke  during  the  subsequent  canvass 
in  Montgomery  before  the  Bell-Everett  club,  and 
advocated  the  Union  as  the  only  salvation  of  Ala 
bama  and  of  the  South.  The  Montgomery  Adver 
tiser — Yancey's  organ — had  then  made  me  the 
object  of  spiteful  vituperation,  and,  afterward,  the 
frequent  contributions,  over  my  own  name,  in  the 
Montgomery  Post  (Bell-Everett),  and  the  Con 
federation  (Douglas),  had  not  made  me  less  known 
than  I  was  otherwise  rendered  by  my  former  law- 
partnership  with  Yancey  himself. 

I  said  invention  was  busy  in  my  brain  as  to  my 
course  after  I  should  have  found  myself  in  the 
,  Confederate  capital.  In  vain  I  strove  to  think  of 
a  single  chance  of  escape.  To  go  home  was  out 
of  the  question.  Although  but  fourteen  miles,  by 
land,  from  Montgomery,  Wetumpka  was  the  most 
dangerous  place  to  me  in  Alabama.  I  do  not 
think  any  of  its  inhabitants  would  have  harmed 
me — unless  some  fanatical  planter  like  Dr.  Pen- 
ick, — who,  of  course,  would  seek  my  destruction, 
seeing  he  had  never  forgiven  me  for  my  exposure 
of  his  mobocrasy, — or  some  tool  of  King  Cotton, 
such  as  Bob  Clark, — who,  after  inciting  the  youth 
of  Wetumpka  to  enlist  against  their  government. 


SCENE    THE    SIXTH.  189 

refused  to  expose  his  forfeit  life  in  their  com 
pany, — could  have  been  so  base  as  to  perpetrate 
the  murderous  deed.  But  the  roads  to  my  resi 
dence  were  sure  to  be  blockaded  by  the  secret 
emissaries  of  Robert  Rives  and  his  coadjutors, 
who  were  evidently  determined  to  assassinate  me. 

It  was  clear  I  must  not  remain  in  Alabama,  be 
cause,  nowhere  could  I  find  adequate  protection 
• — not  even  among  my  Union  confreres  of  Coosa 
county,  who  were  unarmed  and  unprepared  tin- 
self-defence.  I  determined  not  to  involve  my 
friends  in  a  bootless  clanger.  I  must  temporarily 
leave  Alabama ! 

But  how  ?  My  decision  must  be  quickly  formed. 
My  mind,  it  is  true,  did  revert  to  scenes  where  a 
friendship  was  formed  which  can  never  die.  For 
not  asking  aid  of  that  friend,  whose  name,  al 
though -engraved  upon  the  tablets  of  my  heart, 
must  not  be  written  here,  my  apology  must  be 
that  I  would  have  perished  a  thousand  times  be 
fore  I  would  have  involved  my  friend  in  danger. 

And  yet,  thought  recoiled  upon  itself,  when 
ever  it  essayed  to  discover  any  other  means  of 
escape.  In  that  modern  Babylon,  there  was  no 
refuge  from  King  Cotton,  except  in  acknowledg 
ing  his  omnipotent  sway.  This  I  had  not  done — 
would  never  do.  I  was  even  then  fleeing  from 
his  vengeance.  His  dreadful  form,  like  a  modern 
Colossus  of  Rhodes,  seemed  to  bestride  the  city, 
whose  steeples  and  capitol  loomed  up  in  the  dis 
tance  against  the  starlit  skv.  liis  awful  decrees 

O  «-' 


190  THE    ALABAMA    REFUGEE. 

were,  even  then,  pronounced  from  the  Exchange, 
and  fell,  in  thunder,  upon  the  ears  of  sovereign 
States,  who  respectfully  removed  their  glittering 
coronets  and  laid  them  at  his  feet.  The  gas-lights 
of  the  city,  becoming  visible,  seemed  the  Argus- 
eyed  guardians  of  his  power.  As  we  drew  nearer, 
die  occasional  stroke  of  a  Sabbath  bell  melodiously 
summoned  the  inhabitants  to  their  evening  praises. 
The  venial  clergy  would  soon  be  busy  in  exhort 
ing  his  subjects  to  obey  the  behests  of  a  king,  upon 
whose  head  is  denounced  the  vengeance  of  the 
Most  High  God,  in  Ezekiel,  xvii.  19. 

There  lay  the  great  Babylon  of  the  "Western 
World,  like  a  beast  of  prey  crouching  for  a  spring 
at  the  throat  of  every  Alabamian  who  still  loved 
the  national  Union,  respected  his  oath,  and  reject 
ed  the  claims  of  the  usurper  "  King  Cotton." 

I  could  not  but  feel  the  awful  proximity  of  that 
city  weighing  upon  my  lite. 

While  filled  with  the  most  gloomy  reflections, 
I  was  roused  from  my  meditations  by  the  clatter 
ing  hoofs  of  an  approaching  horse.  Xearer  and 
nearer  came  the  rider,  until  close  to  the  vehicle, 
where  he  reined  up  for  a  moment,  scrutinized  the 
stage  and  especially  its  inside  occupant,  when, 
seeming  satisfied  with  the  survey,  he  again  put 
spurs  to  his  horse,  raised  a  derisive  whoop,  waved 
aloft  his  cap,  and  darted  into  the  city  at  the  top 
of  his  speed. 

I  recognized  John   Raymond  on  his   foaming 

O  •/  O 

steed. 


SCENE   THE    SIXTH.  191 

My  position  was  critical  in  the  extreme.  This 
man  was  about  to  rouse  the  town  for  my  warm  re 
ception.  As  we  rumbled  into  the  "  city  of  the 
great  kino-  *'  my  heart  fainted  within  me.  My 

o  ZD/  *j  j 

worst  enemy  could  not  wish  me  to  be  in  a  more 
utterly  abject  state  of  hopelessness.  My  friends, 
alas  !  knew  not  even  where  I  was  at  that  moment. 
The  news  of  my  victimization  could  not  possibly 
have  readied  my  friends  even  in  Montgomery, 
much  less  Wetumpka.  The  good,  who  dwelt  in 
the  capital  of  King  Cotton,  could  not — the  wicked 
would  not — interpose  the  outraged  law  for  my 
protection. 

The  stage  suddenly  stopped.  We  had  entered 
the  city  through  a  suburb  unseen  by  me  before. 

•/  O  »/ 

One  of  the  men  dismounted  from  the  driver's  box, 
and  coming  to  the  door,  said  : 

"  Mister,  I'm  going  to  stop  here,  and  perhaps 
you'd  like  to  get  out  too.  This  is  a  private  house, 
and  here  you  can  be  accommodated  about  as  Avell 
as  anywhere  else.  If  you  don't  like  the  place 
after  you  get  here,  you  can  change  it,  you  know, 
and  I'll  help  you  make  a  selection." 

There  was  genuine  kindness  in  the  tones.  I 
consented.  As  we  entered  the  house,  I  turned 
toward  the  street,  and  received  a  bow  from  the 
ubiquitous  John  Raymond,  who  rode  composedly 
by,  singing  these  words,  which  I  did  not  then  un 
derstand  : 

"  Wlien  tlie  devil  was  sick,  tin;  devil  a  saint  would  be, 
When  tlie  devil  was  well,  tlie  devil  a  saint  was  lie." 


102  THE  ALABAMA  REFUGEE. 

A  derisive  laugh  formed  the  chorus. 

Was  it  the  chilliness  of  the  evening,  or  this  new 

o" 

cause  for  watchfulness  which  sent  a  cold  shudder 
through  my  frame,  as  I  drew  near  the  blazing  oak 
fire? 

The  lady  of  the  house,  about  forty  years  of  age, 
was  blessed  with  the  society  of  four  or  five  hand 
some  daughters.  Between  the  stage-driver  and 
his  wife — at  least  his  affectionate  manner  seemed 
to  point  out  his  interlocutrix  as  such — was  con 
ducted  a  whispered  conversation,  the  result  of 
which  was  a  warm  supper  for  the  guest. 

My  respectful  manner  brought  an  astonished 
expression  to  their  faces.  One  of  the  young  ladies 
eat  beside  me,  held  my  plate,  smiled  upon  me,  and 
asked  me  whether  "  any  thing  ailed"  me .;  •"  for," 
said  she,  "  you  are  thoughtful  and  silent."  Rais 
ing  my  eyes,  they  encountered  a  pair  of  beautiful 
brown  orbs  resting  upon  them  with  an  expression 
which  caused  me  involuntarily  to  smile  in  return  ; 
but  it  was  a  sad,  sad  smile ;  so  much  so  that  my 
fair  companion  exclaimed : 

"  Something  does  ail  you  !  You  look  miserable." 
Then,  lowering  her  voice,  she  whispered :  "  Con 
fide  in  me." 

There  was  a  sudden  inclination  in  my  thought 
to  tell  her  all ;  to  claim  her  sympathy  as  a  woman, 
and  obtain  her  aid  for  my  escape ;  but,  swallow 
ing  the  sob  which  human  sympathy  was  evoking, 
I  forced  myself  to  say : 

"  Although  I  am  much  obliged  to  you  for  your 


SCENE    THE    SIXTH.  103 

sympathy,  I  can  not  tell  you  my  troubles.     They 
involve  important  secrets." 

"  Well,  well,  your  secret  shall  not  be  invaded. 
But  cheer  up,  man  !  Don't  look  so  heartbroken." 

This  was  said  with  an  odd  admixture  of  play 
fulness,  petulance,  and  pity,  and  soon  the  refugee 
and  his  pretty  tormentor  were  conversing  more 
freely  together. 

But  time  was  precious.  Reminding  William,  as 
the  ladies  called  the  driver,  that  I  must  be  going, 
I  was  about  to  leave,  when  the  former  caught 
Hatty  to  his  heart,  gave  her  a  pronounced  kiss, 
then  started  off  with  his  quondam  passenger. 

"  You  do  not  seem  to  have  been  long  married, 
sir,"  I  innocently  remarked. 

A  loud  laugh  shook  William's  frame,  as,  slap 
ping  me  familiarly  upon  the  back,  he  exclaimed — 

"  Come  along,  man  ;  you're  green  !" 

I  could  not  forbear  to  mingle  a  smile  with  the 
conscious  flush  which  attended  my  conviction  that 
I  had  unconsciously  entered  one  of  those  gilded 
portals  which  introduce  so  many  of  our  race  to  the 
vestibule  of  ruin. 

" Soni  soit  qui  mal  y  pense" 
17 


SCENE  THE  SEVENTH. 


"  THE  CITY  OP  THE  GREAT  KING."  * 

"  For  now  I  stand  as  one  upon  a  rock, 
Environed  by  a  wilderness  of  sea, 
Wlio  marks  the  waxing  tide  grow,  wave  by  wave, 
Expecting  ever  when  some  envious  surge 
Will,  in  his  brinish  bowels,  swallow  him." 

ON  the  plea  of  business  at  the  Exchange  hotel, 
the  fugitive  left  his  companion  at  a  crossing,  and 
found  himself — alone  ! 

Think  of  it !  a  Unionist  of  1861,  outlawed,  hunt 
ed,  wearied,  despairing,  in  the  streets  of  the  Con 
federate  capital — alone  ! 

Say !  can  you  imagine  a  situation  of  more  total 
abandonment?  Is  there,  on  God's  green  footstool, 
a  spot  more  dangerous  to  human  tread,  than  the 
streets  of  Montgomery  tlien\  were  to  the  presence 
of  E.  S.  Tharin  ? 

The  crater  of  Vesuvius  is  not  inaccessible  to 
human  visitation,  when  the  soft  breezes  whisper 
through  its  caverns,  and  the  vine-bearing  hills  lift 
their  summits  in  the  purple  sunset;  but,  when  the 
lav  a- waves  of  Nature's  fiercest  convulsion  wrap 


Cotton.  f  Not  so  to  be  always,  however. 


SCENE    THE    SEVENTH.  195 

city  and  forest  in  lurid  glare,  while  the  rocking 
earth  hurls  fragmentary  temples  from  their  bases 
—then  f 

"Why,  then  !  to  tread  upon  the  brink  of  that 
earthly  hell,  is  quite  a  different  thing! 

It  is  the  holy  Sabbath  eve  (February  24th,  1861), 
and  Montgomery's  Christian  temples  are  pouring 
out  their  retiring  congregations  under  the  peaceful 
stars.  Reverend  gentlemen,  with  snowy  cravats 
and  mincing  gait,  walk  in  the  midst  of  gayly 
dressed  damsels,  who  court  their  clerical  smiles ; 
elders  and  vestrymen,  Sunday-school  teachers  and 
exhorters,  laymen  and  deacons,  presbyters  and 
bishops— how  multitudinously  their  feet  patter,- or 
strut,  or  stamp,  or  scrape,  over  that  gas-lit  pave ! 
To  see  the  happy  throng,  you  would  suppose  them 
all  to  be  on  a  starlit  promenade  direct  to  heaven, 
and  that  this  pave  is  the  "  narrow  way." 

But  you  would  be  mistaken  ;  for  this — although 
quiescent — is  Vesuvius  still ! 

Should  that  mincing  Pharisee,  the  cut  of  whose 
orthodox  garment  proclaims  the  clerical  Brum- 
inell,  as  he  saunters  by  with  virgin  innocence 
resting  upon  his  arm,  detect  the  presence,  and  its 
cause,  of  that  traveler  who,  portmanteau  in  hand, 
is  crossing  toward  the  line  of  the  Christian  cara 
van,  his  lips,  yet  warm  with  pulpit  strains  of  peace, 
and  rhetorical  flourishes  about  the  vrujb  of  Cal 
vary,  would  sound  the  tocsin  of  persecution  ;  and 
his  delicate  hands,  yet  red  with  pummeling  the 
gospel  according  to  St.  Matthew,  or  the  martyr- 


196  THE  ALABAMA  REFUGEE. 

dom  of  St.  Stephen,  would  hold  the  garments  of 
those  who  would  arrange  the  martyr's  noose 
around  a  patriot's  neck,  consenting  to — his  death  ! 

Should  that  delicate  female,  whose  intellectual 
brow  is  crowned  with  golden  ringlets,  and  whose 
celestial  eyes  are  upturned  with  worship  to  meet 
the  rapt  glance  of  her  spiritual  guide — should  she 
perceive  that  a  friend  of  tlie  Union  of  her  fore 
fathers  had  just  passed  "by,  with  mingled  rage  and 
hate  she  would  shriek  aloud,  and  the  cry— false 
as  hell ! — "Abolitionist !  hang  him  !"  would  be 
the  chivalrous  response.  "At  that  cry  accurst," 
the  heavenward  throng  would  pause,  attent,  upon 
the  "  narrow  way,"  and,  catching  up  the  celestial 
sound,  would  spring  upon  the  fugitive's  path  like 
bloodhounds  after  their  prey.  Should  their  chase 
be  crowned  with  success,  they  would  add  another 
element  of  thanksgiving  to  their  next  Sunday's 
praises,  and  lift  their  blood-stained  hands  to 
:  heaven,  in  attestation  of  their  pious  devotion  to 
that  Cotton  who  (for  them)  is  supreme  "  in  heaven 
above,  in  earth  beneath,  and  in  the  waters  that 
are  under  the  earth." 

Alone,  then,  and — fecauseloy&l  and  law-abiding 
— outlawed  and  hunted — an  American  citizen,  in 
his  own  country,  stood  upon  the  crater  of  a  mut 
tering  volcano.  Humble  though  he  was — un 
blessed  with  wealth — is  there  not  something  anom 
alous  in  the  situation  ?  Can  you  not  almost  see 
the  forms  of  the  great  tutelaries  of  America,  who 
lived,  bled,  and  died  in  and  for  the  Union,  bend- 


SCENE    THE    SEVENTH.  197 

ing  from  on  high  to  keep  watch  over  his  destinies  ? 
And  he,  the  father  of  that  exile,  was  not  excluded 
from  that  august  band,  as  he  watched  over  the 
steps  of  his  persecuted  son,  while  the  enemies  of 
American  equality  were  lurking  in  wait  for  his 
life. 

Time  was  precious.  I  felt  the  precarious  nature 
of  my  footing.  The  only  visible  sympathizers 
with  my  agony  were  the — stars !  whose  distant, 
but  encouraging  eyes  seemed  to  say,  "Look  up!" 
I  tried  to  look  up,  and  beheld  the  accursed  flag  of 
Secession,  to  me  henceforth  the  detestable  emblem 
of  strides  alone,  flaunting  from  the  very  building 
I  was  about  to  enter ;  but  I  was  glad  to  see  the 
twinkling  stars  beyond  and  above  it,  shining  se 
renely  in  the  "  azure  dome  of  night,"  out  of  the 
reach  of  treason  or  of  change.  They  seemed  to 
invite — to  beckon  me,  saying — 

"  Come  up  hither,  where  the  stars  are  free  !" 

Have  I  not  obeyed  their  mute  but  eloquent 
invitation?  Am  I  not  enjoying  a  hard-earned 
semi-tranquillity  in  the  light  of  that  constellation 
which  still  sheds  its  loyal  rays  upon  the  national 
banner?  When  the  stars  of  heaven  fell,  the  pow 
ers  that  were  in  heaven  were  only  "  shaken." 
Passed  is  now  the  convulsion,  and  the  pillars  of 
Liberty  rock  only  on  account  of  a  recent  vibration. 

"  It  was  (mirabile  dicta  /)  into  the  Exchange 
hotel  that  L  was  about  to  enter.  In  that  hotel, 
the  perjured  members  of  the  illegitimate  "South 
ern  Congress"  were  even  then  concocting  then* 
17* 


198  THE  ALABAMA  REFUGEE. 

flagitious  schemes  for  the  overthrow  of  that  gov 
ernment  the  loyal  citizen  was  risking  his  very  life 
to  maintain. 

The  editor  of  the  Charleston  Mercury  and  one 
of  the  members  of  the  "  Southern  Congress"  are 
the  sole  occupants  of  "No.  6." 

A  muffled  knock  is  heard  at  the  door,  and  in 
response  to  the  invitation  "  come  in,"  a  pallid  face 
and  eager  eyes  burst  upon  the  twain. 

The  member  of  the  Southern  Congress  rises  and 

o 

extends  his  hand : 

"  Mr.  Tharin,  how  do  you  do  ?  Where  have  you 
come  from  ?  You  look  badly,  but  I  can  never  for 
get  that  face." 

"  Mr.  Miles,  I  have  come  far  to  see  you,  and 
would  prefer  to  communicate  with  you  alone." 

Exit  K.  Barnwell  Rhett,  Jr.,  editor  of  the 
Charleston  Mercury. 

As  this  man  has  played  a  conspicuous  part  in 
hounding  on  his  class, — the  cotton  aristocrats,— 
advocating  every  species  of  excess  in  the  polished 
periods  of  a  cultivated  pen,  it  may  not  be  amiss 
to  give  a  short  sketch  of  his  origin,  of  which  he  is 
very  proud. 

In  1712-13  the  Tuscaroras,  Corees,  and  other 
Indian  tribes  in  North  Carolina,  broke  out  into  sud 
den  hostilities  against  the  white  settlers  along  the 
Neuce  and  Roanoke  rivers.  The  "  Palatines"  of 
the  old  North  State,  then  under  colonial  vassalage 
to  Great  Britain,  could  not  sustain  themselves 
without  assistance,  and  a  swift  messenger  was  dis- 


SCE]SrE    THE    SEVENTH.  199 

patched  to  Port  Royal  (South  Carolina)  for  aid. 
The  "  Lords  Proprietors"  sent  Col.  Barnwell,  with 
a  large  force  (eight  or  nine  hundred,  I  think), 
to  reduce  the  Indians  to  submission.  He  found 
them  intrenched  in  a  fort  of  palisades.  Being 
afraid  to  attack  them,  Barnwell  entered  into  a 
treaty  with  them. 

On  his  return  march  he  invaded  certain  peace 
able  Indian  villages,  and,  contrary  to  the  stipula 
tions  of  the  treaty^  kidnapped  not  a  few  of  the 
inhabitants,  whom  he  imported  into  South  Caro 
lina,  as  slaves,  to  till  the  indigo-fields  of  that 
colony.* 

R.  Barnwell  Smith,  not  more  than  a  dozen  or 
two  years  ago,  changed  his  name  to  Rhett,  for  an 
'inheritance.  R.  Barnwell  Rhett,  Jr., — ne  Smith, 
—is  the  hopeful  scion  of  this  most  illustrious  house. 

But  all  is  not  yet  told.  In  consequence  of  the 
outrage  against  civilization  committed  by  Col. 
Barnwell,  the  massacres  of  the  Neuce  river  were 
renewed,  when  the  Lords  Proprietors  of  South 
Carolina  sent  a  smaller  body  of  men,  most  of  them 
Indians  (in  the  whole  six  hundred  there  were  not 
more  than  fifty  whites),  under  Col.  James  Moore, 
afterward  governor  of  the  colony,  who  stormed  the 
same  fort,  under  more  difficult  circumstances,  and 
reduced  the  Indians  to  complete  quiescence. 

lie  committed  no  outrages  on  the  return  march, 
and  so  the  peace  was  lasting. 


*  See  Carroll's  Historical  Collections  of  South  Carolina. 


THE   ALABAMA   REFUGEE. 

Barnwell,  the  coward,  faltered  in  attacking  the 
fort ;  Barnwell,  the  pirate,  kidnapped  peaceful 
Indians  as  slaves  for  his  indigo-fields. 

From  this  distinguished  slave-pirate  is  descended 
the  modern  advocate  of  the  world-wide  execrated 
"  African  slave-trade." 

There  is  a  wonderful  persistency  in  blood  to 
betray  its  origin  !  This  is  exemplified  in  the  life 
and  writings  of  R.  Barnwell  Rhett,  Jr. 

From  this  short  digression,  begging  the  reader's 
pardon,  return  we  to  "No.  6  Exchange  Hotel, 
Montgomery,  after  its  evacuation  by  the  editor  of 
the  Charleston  Mercury,  the  "  organ"  of  the  "first 
families"  of  South  Carolina. 

The  following  conversation  then  took  place  : 

THARIN.  "Honorable  William  Porcher  Miles, 
once  of  the  Federal,  now  of  the  Confederate  Con 
gress,  have  you  forgotten  'auld  lang  syne?'  Do 
you  remember  when  my  class  at  college,  the  Col 
lege  of  Charleston — your  alma  mater  and  my  alma 
mater — presented  the  assistant  professor  of  Mathe 
matics  with  a  silver  cup  ?" 

MILES.  "  I  have  not  the  bad  taste  to  forget 
it." 

THARIN.  "It  was  a  handsome  gift !  It  ought  to 
be  a  link  between  the  past  and  the  present." 

MILES.  "It  is!  it  is!" 

THARIN.  "I'm  sure,  professor,  if  you  were  in 
danger,  not  one  of  that  class  would  refuse  to  save 
you  if  he  could  !" 

MILES.  "  Ah  !  I  see !  I  see  !  You  are  in  danger ! 


SCENE   THE    SEVENTH.  201 

I  perceive  it  in  your  whole  manner.  Dear  pupil 
confide  in  me.  What  can  I  do  for  you  ?" 

TIIAKIV.  "Save  me!" 

MILES.  "  ITow  ?  when  ?  where  ?  why  ?" 

THAKIN.  "  By  aiding  me  on  my  way  to  Cincin 
nati,  immediately  !" 

MILES.   "But  why?" 

THARIN.  "  An  infuriated  mob  has  already  visited 
me  with  undeserved  barbarities.  Other  mobs  are 
gathering  for  my  destruction.  I  ain  a  fugitive 
from  mobocracy  !  "Will  you  save  me  ?" 

MILKS.  "What  have  you  done?" 

THARIN.  "  Nothing  wrong." 

MILES.  "  What  is  the  nature  of  your  offense  ?" 

THAEIN.  "  Political !" 

MILKS  (with  a  darkening  brow).    "  Ha  !" 

THARIX.  "  I  was  about  publishing,  in  this  city, 
a  newspaper  to  be  called  the  '  Non-slavehold- 


MILES  (starting  to  his  feet).  "Good  Heaven  !" 

TIIARIN.  "  My  only  object,  professor,  was  to  ad 
vocate  the  rights  of  that  class  to  representation 
and  equality." 

MILES.  "Worse  and  worse! — I  can't  help  you, 
Mr.  Tharin, — wait  here  a  minute  or  two." 

The  victim  of  mobocracy  had  learned,  by  bitter 
experience,  to  read  the  dark  thoughts  of  men  by 
the  light  of  their  own  eyes.  There  was  a  glitter 
in  the  glance  of  Miles  which  revealed,  like  the 
lightning  from  a  black  sky,  the  abyss  below. 
Without  awaiting  his  return,  I  made  my  way  into 


202          THE  ALABAMA  REFUGEE. 

the  street,  and  was  about  to  proceed,  with  rapid 
steps  along  the  pavement,  when,  suddenly  stepping 
from  the  side  of  the  door,  a  man  lightly  laid  his 
detaining  lingers  upon  my  arm. 
"Stop,  Mister!" 

With  a  sudden  movement,  I  was  about  to  grasp 
my  captor's  throat.     My  instantaneous  discovery 
of  John  Raymond  did  not  diminish  my  energy, 
when,  in  a  conciliating  tone,  he  said  : 
"  Step  this  way,  Mr  Tharin." 
"  Who  told  you  that  was  my  name  ?" 
He  drew  me  gently  to  the  shade  of  a  lamp. 
Then,  glancing  cautiously  around,  he  said  in   an 
almost  whisper : 

"  I  was  at  Collirene  both  times  you  were  mob 
bed.  I  was  not  a  member  of  the  vigilance  com 
mittee,  or  of  your  association,  but  I  am  now,  by 
G- — !  I  made  up  my  mind  to  follow  and  to  save 
you  !"  Here  his  voice  grew  thick  and  his  breath 
ing  hard.  "I  got  to  Benton  in  time  to  prevail  on 
the  stage-driver  to  take  you  on.  I  took  a  short 
cut  across  the  country  and  met  you  at  the  half 
way-house.  You  know  the  rest.  To  be  seen  in 
your  company  now  would  be  certain  death.  You 
will  be  hung  as  high  as  Hainan  if  you  stay  in  the 
State.  Don't  think,  for  a  moment,  of  going  to 
your  own  town  (Wetumpka),  for  you  are  to  be 
waylaid.  Don't  stay  here  another  moment.  You 
know  very  wrell  that  this  hole  is  full  of  your  ene 
mies.  Go  to  Montgomery  Hall,  register  your 
name,  call  for  a  room,  and,  to-morrow  I'll  call  for 


SCKNE    THE    SEVENTH.  203 

you  in  a  hack  and  take  you  to  the  depot  of  the 
West  Point  railroad." 

"  Many — many  thanks  for  your — 

"Hold your — hush.  You're  foolish  !  People"? 
passing  !" 

We  separated. 

When  I  reached  the  hotel  he  had  indicated,  I 
advanced,  with  a  beating  heart,  to  the  register, 
upon  which  I  entered  this  fictitious  name  : 

"  B.  T.  Hainan,  Charleston,  S.  C.,"  and  called 
for  a  room. 

And  now,  if  any  Secessionist  ventures  to  deny 
my  statement,  thus  I  prove  its  correctness,  and 
the  clanger  to  which  I  was  subjected,  on  account 
of  my  loyalty  : 

Take  the  hotel  register  of  the  Montgomery  Hall 
for  Sunday  the  24th  of  February,  look  at  the  end 
of  the  arrivals  for  that  clay,  and  you  will  find  the 
name  "  B.  (better)  T.  (take),  Hainan,  Charleston, 
S.  C."  You  won't  find  the  words  "  better  take,'1 
but  you  will  will  find  their  initials,  "  B."  and  "  T/' 

Again :  in  order  to  place  the  matter  beyond  the 
possibility  of  a  doubt,  I  will  here  describe  the  very 
way,  the  surname  is  written 

H-a-y-m-a-n . 

The  "y"  was  added,  in  order  to  prevent  any 
association  of  ideas  from  pointing  me  out  until  too 
late  to  destroy  me  and  my  testimony  forever. 

"  ISTow," — thought  I,  as  I  entered  that  room,  from 
which  I  might  never  emerge  alive, — "  now,  if  John 
Raymond  meant  to  catch  me  bv  advising  me  to 


20-i  THE    ALABAMA    REFUGEE. 

register  my  own  name,  I  have  completely  foiled 
him — that's  all !  If  he  be  a  friend  indeed,  to-mor 
row  he  shall  find  me." 

I  drew  off  my  boots,  disencumbered  myself  of  my 
coat  and  seizing  the  candle  approached  the  mirror, 
with  a  vague  notion  that  I  must  have  changed 
some  little  in  the  last  two  or  three  days. 

I  started  at  the  spectral  face  which  presented 
itself  before  me.  Want  of  rest,  food,  and  mental 
peace,  nights  of  intense  misery,  doubt,  anxiety, 
suspense,  hope,  fear,  unceasing  thought,  had  done 
their  work.  Replacing  the  candle,  I  threw  myself 
upon  my  bed,  but  how  could  I  sleep  ?  Burying 
my  face  in  the  pillow,  I  thus  meditated : 

"Had  I  commenced  with  perjury  and  ended 
with  murder  ;  had  I  been  guilty  of  some  flagrant 
act  of  violence  upon  the  constitutional  rights  of 
some  unprotected  poor  white  man  ;  had  I  accom 
panied  the  act  with  language  of  brutal  contempt ; 
had  I  precipitated  the  low  and  fiendish  rabble  to 
persecute,  upon  suspicion,  a  helpless  wretch  'for 
the  sake  of  the  example' — I  had,  this  night,  been 
rewarded  with  office,  popularity,  and  applause. 
But  I  have  dared  to  do  an  act  more  just  than  pop 
ular,  to  keep  my  heaven-registered  oath,  to  support, 
the  Union,  the  Constitution,  and  the  cause  of  the 
defenseless  and  oppressed,  and  -  -  here  am  I!  a 
violent  death  closing  upon  me  from  a  circumfer 
ence  of  horror.  In  the  center  of  that  circle,  al 
most  overpowered  with  the  mightiness  of  the  cri 
sis — too  soon  to  2:1  ve  wav  beneath  a  load  of  woe 


SCENE    THE    SEVENTH.  205 

and  distress,  growing,  every  moment,  more  and 
more  intolerable,  I  must  not  make  a  single  false 
step.  My  wife  and  daughter,  only  fourteen  miles 
off,  I  may  never  more  behold  !  Little  do  they 
think  to-night  how  much  I  suffer.  May  God  pro 
tect  my  Mollie  ;  may  he  watch  my  little  Claudia's 
unfolding  heart  and  mind.  O  God  !  save  us  all 
to  meet  in  other  lands,  where  barbarism  has  given 
place  to  an  enlightened  civilization  !" 

Just  then,  through  the  corridor,  I  heard  the  ap 
proach  of  trampling  feet. 

"  Suppose,"  said  Apprehension,  "  suppose  John 
Raymond  should  prove  false.  Suppose  he  should 
bring  with  him  a  brutal  mob,  and  betray  the  fugi 
tive  with  a  kiss." 

The  feet  came  to  the  very  door — they  stopped— 
there  came  a  loud  rap,  which  was  echoed  in  the 
caverns  of  my  bosom. 

"  Is  Mr.  Hainan  in  ?" 

With  the  inward  ejaculation,  "  If  I  die  for  my 
principles,  it  shall  not  be  by  the  felon's  rope !"  I 
opened  wide  the  door  and  approached  the  open 
window  as  the  party  entered. 

First  appeared  a  negro  waiter,  candle  in  hand  ; 
then  a  well-dressed,  but  not  prepossessing,  gentle 
man  ;  and  then  slowly,  but  excitedly,  John  Ray 
mond  himself. 

"  That  will  do,  boy,"  said  Raymond,  and  the 
negro  retired. 

With  one  bound  he  put  down  the  window,  with 
his  back  to  which  lie  stood  confronting  me. 
is 


206  THE  ALABAMA  REFUGEE. 

"  Tharin,  put  on  your  coat  and  boots  ;  here, 
take  your  luggage,  let  me  have  your  money,  and 
• — follow  me." 

I  watched  the  quivering  muscles  of  his  face,  and 
said  : 

"  Do  you  come  as  a  friend,  or  as  an  enemy  ?" 

"  As  a  friend.     Follow  me  !" 

"  Your  hand,  in  token  of  honest  friendship,  and 
I'll  go." 

Raymond  saw  my  emotion  and  nervously  whis 
pered  : 

"  Quick,  quick  man,  we're  loosing  precious  mo 
ments—follow  me !" 

"  How  do  I  know  your  intentions  ?" 

Here  Raymond  could  stand  it  no  longer.  He 
not  only  clasped  my  hand  but  my  form  ;  he  wept, 
as  a  strong  manly  heart  alone  could  weep. 

"  D — n  you  !  come,  be  quick  !  My  heartstrings 
are  breaking  for  you  !  I  will  save  you  !  D — ri  me 
if  I  don't.  But  I'm  afraid  you'll  be  recognized 
down-stairs.  Your  excited  appearance  has  created 
a  great  deal  of  gossip  down  there  already.  Give 
me  your  money  !  I'll  pay  the  bill,  while  you,  with 
Mark  here,  slip  out." 

Was  it  a  dream  ?  Was  I  awake  ?  Would  I  be 
permitted  to  again  behold  God's  beautiful  world? 
to  see  in  it  those  I  loved  ?  It  was  too  much.  For 
one  brief  moment,  consciousness  almost  forsook 
me  in  my  delirious  joy  ! 

Almost  without  knowing  how,  I  again  found 
myself  in  the  gas-lit  streets  of  the  Confederate 


SCKNK    THE    SEVENTH.  54U< 

capital,  with  my  two  companions,  one  on  each 
side  of  me.  We  soon  arrived  at  a  place  which  I 
will  not  here  describe,  on  account  of  the  persecu 
tions  to  which  my  friends  might  be  subjected. 
Up  stairs  we  groped,  through  the  darkness,  to  a 
comfortable  room,  where  we  found  ourselves  soon 
in  one  bed.  There  were  other  beds  in  the  room, 
but  we  wished  to  converse. 

The  first  word  I  had  ever  heard  Raymond's  sin 
gular  companion  sa-y  was,  after  we  were  under  the 
coverlid, 

"Fools!" 

"  Who  f '  asked  Raymond. 

"  You,  and  this  other  man.  Why  the  devil 
couldn't  you  leave  Montgomery  Hall  without 
hugging  and  crying  like  women  ?" 

u  Never  mind,  Mark ;  you  go  to  sleep,  now." 

"  Well,  don't  cry  any  more,  John." 

"  You  be  d— d  !"  said  the  latter. 

That  was  their  "  good-night !" 

George  was  soon  snoring  in  the  most  unequiv 
ocal  manner. 

I  was  myself  rapidly  sinking  into  the  deep  sleep 
of  exhaustion,  when  a  hand  shook  my  shoulder, 
and  Raymond's  voice  whispered, 

"  Are  you  asleep  ?" 

"  Almost." 

"  Wake  up !" 

"What's  the  matter?" 

"  When  George  and  I  leave  you  in  the  morning, 
he  will  £0  to  his  work — I'll  come  back  with  a 


208  THE  ALABAMA  REFUGEE. 

hack ;  step  boldly  into  it  and  ride  to  the  depot, 
buy  a  ticket — it  will  be  early.  Take  your  place  in 
the  car,  and  then — take  care  of  yourself  1" 

"  I  will  do  as  yon  tell  me." 

"  And  now  go  to  sleep.  Feel  no  dread — you're 
safe.  Yon  need  sleep — take  it  while  yon  can  !" 

These  refreshing  words  added  fragrance  to  my 
slumber.  My  visions  were  the  thoughts  of  Inno 
cence,  as  my  actions  had  been  her  suggestions. 
No  Abolition  incendiarism  filled  my  dreams  with 
the  charred  remains  of  conflagrated  houses ;  but 
the  white  dove  of  returning  peace  nestled  over  the 
land,  the  curtain  of  futurity  lifted,  and  Alabama 
emerged  upon  the  stage  of  action,  crowned  with 
the  star-spangled  glories  of  her  first  love,  and 
purified  from  her  sin  ! 

The  next  morning,  two  persons  stood  together 
in  a  chamber  in  the  "  City  of  the  Great  King."  A 
hack  wras  at  the  door,  its  negro  driver  composedly 
seated  in  front,  its  door  open,  and  clouds  of  vapor 
rising  from  the  expanding  nostrils  of  its  bay  horses. 
The  hands  of  the  two  men  were  warmly  inter- 
clasped.  He  who  held  a  portmanteau  was  say 
ing— 

"  And  we  may  never,  on  earth,  meet  again  ;  but 
as  you  have  done  to  me,  in  this  awful  crisis  of  my 
life,  may  God  do  to  you,  in  your  greatest  need, 
and  more  too.  Never — never  will  I  forget  you  ! 
Good-by!" 

The  sincere  warmth  with,  which  this  was  said 
brought  a  quiver  to  the  other's  lip.  With  elo- 


SCENE   THE    SEVENTH.  209 

quent  eyes,  but  silent  lips,  lie  pressed  the  Refugee's 
hand,  then  vanished  out  of  the  door.  As  he  went 
noisily,  but  rapidly,  down  the  steps,  his  voice  was 
overheard  exclaiming — 

"  D— n  it  all !  I'm  getting  fond  of  the  fel 
low!" 

JSToble  !  kind -hearted  !  patriotic  man  !  Avhen  God 
shall  number  his  jewels,  many  a  wealthy  and  re 
fined  cotton-planter,  who,  by  virtue  of  a  fortunate 
marriage  or  a  lucky  descent,  noAV  lords  it  over 
God's  green  heritage,  shall  be  weighed  in  the 
balances  and  found  wanting;  while  tliou,  the  poor 
neglected  stage-driver,  whose  earthly  opportuni 
ties  never  equaled  theirs,  will  hear  these  gracious 
words  from  a  King  more  to  be  dreaded  than  King1 

O  O 

Cotton : 

u  Come,  thou  blessed  of  my  Father,  inherit  the 
kingdom  prepared  for  thee  from  the  foundation  of 
the  world ;  for  I  was  an  hungered,  and  thou  gav- 
edst  me  meat ;  I  was  thirsty,  and  thou  gavedst  me 
drink  ;  I  was  naked,  and  thou  clothedst  me  ;  I  was 
sick,  and  in  prison,  and  thou  didst  minister  unto 

ME." 

Then,  covered  with  modest  confusion,  thou  shalt 
say: 

"  Lord,  when  saw  I  thee  an-hungered,  or  a-thirst, 
or  naked,  or  sick,  or  in  prison,  and  ministered  unto 

thee?" 

Then  shall  the  King  of  kings  reply  : 

"  Inasmuch  as  thou  didst  it  to  this,  the  least  of 

these  my  brethren,  thou  didst  it  unto  ME." 
18* 


210  THE    ALABAMA    REFUGEE. 

Where,  then,  shall  the  conspirator,  William 
Porcher*  Miles,  appear? 

Methinks  I  hear  the  thunder-tones  of  the  last 
Judge  pronouncing  these  words  : 

"  Depart  from  me,  accursed,  into  everlasting 
fire,  prepared  for  the  devil  and  his  angels"  (i.  e., 
for  the  first  Seceder  and  his  followers) ;  "  for  I 
was  hungry,  and  tliou  gavedst  me  no  meat ;  I  was 
thirsty,  and  tliou  gavedst  me  no  drink  ;  I  was  sick 
and  in  prison,  and  tliou  visitedst  me  not.  Inas 
much  as  tliou  didst  it  not  to  this,  the  least  of  these, 
my  brethren,  tliou  didst  it  not  to  ME  !" 

Then,  while  the  humble  stage-driver  shall  be 
carried  to  the  skies  in  a  triumphal  procession  of 
the  holy  angels,  the  crest-fallen  ex-congressman, 
arm  in  arm  with  Jefferson  Davis  and  William  L. 
Yancey,  will  secede  into  that  outer  darkness  con 
genial  to  their  political  antecedents. 

Reader,  do  you  want  a  friend  ? 

Go  not  to  the  proud  Pharisee,  who  stands  at  the 
corners  of  the  streets  that  men  may  see  him  pray  ; 
but  betake  yourself  to  the  stall  and  the  shamble, 
where  honest  poverty  wrestles  with  fate,  and  from 
her  reluctant  palm  extorts  a  scanty  subsistence. 
Go  not  to  the  happy  and  the  refined /  the  cry  of 
anguish,  shocks  their  delicate  ears,  and  their  hearts 

o 

prefer  to  break  over  the  imaginary  sufferings  of 
"  Uncle  Tom,"  rather  than  to  "  minister  to  minds 
diseased,  pluck  from  the  soul  a  rooted  sorrow,  and 


Pronounced  PorsJidy. 


SCKNE    THE    SEVENTH.  211 

rid  the  spirit  of  that  perilous  stuff  that  weighs 
upon  the  heart."  Above  all,  go  not  to  a  perjured, 
partisan  demagogue ;  for,  if  a  man  be  untrue  to 
his  country  and  his  oath,  how  can  he  be  true  to 
the  dictates  of  humanity  ? 

We  may  never  meet  again  on  earth,  but  the 
daguerreotype  of  John  Raymond  shall  ever  re 
main  bright  in  the  picture-gallery  of  memory. 

Having  run  the  gauntlet  of  Main-street  in  the 
hack,  I  approached  the  depot.  A  gilded  sign, 
reddening  in  the  rays  of  morning,  met  my  view. 
In  mocking  syllables,  its  ample  letters  arranged 
themselves  before  my  eyes  : 

CHILTON    &   YANCEY. 

Yancey !  the  ablest  and  the  most  unscrupulous 
man  that  ever  plotted  the  overthrow  of  popular 
rights !  The  cotton  aristocracy  could  not,  by  any 
possibility,  have  produced  such  a  man.  Originally 
created  in  God's  own  image,  with  qualities  the 
most  engaging,  powers  the  most  wonderful,  genius 
the  most  transcend  ant,  he  seemed  one  of  those 
whom  nature  throws  off  in  her  most  inspired 
moods,  and  crowns  with  every  talent  that  can  add 
dignity  to  the  forum  or  enthusiasm  to  the  popu 
lace.  But  she  had  not  adjusted  her  gifts  with 
that  nice  equipoise  which  is  essential  to  harmony 
and  perfection.  His  ambition  she  made  greater 
than  his  love  of  truth,  and  just  a  fraction  larger 
than  his  vanity.  Mr.  Yancey  commenced  his  po 
litical  career  at  Cahawba.  and  afterward  removed 


212  THE    ALABAMA    JRKFDGEE. 

to  Wetumpka,  wliere  lie  became  the  editor  of  the 
Wetumpka  Argus,  Working  his  way  to  Con 
gress  by  means  of  that  paper,  he  placed  himself 
among  the  "  yeas  and  nays"  in  favor  of  the  annex 
ing  of  the  "  Wilmot  Proviso"  to  the  admission  of 
Oregon.  Reflecting  afterward  the  political  sen 
timents  of  the  men  upon  whom  he  depended  for 
promotion,  nothing  became  too  self-contradictory 
for  him  to  do,  if  it  but  served  his  ultimate  end. 
I  have  heard  him  say  (at  the  Commercial  Conven 
tion  at  Montgomery,  Alabama,  in  1858)  that  he 
resigned  his  place  in  Congress,  in  consequence  of 
his  inability  to  support  his  family  at  Washington. 
This  proves  that  the  cotton  aristocracy  did  not 
produce  him,  as  I  have  already  intimated. 

His  inventive  genius  being  ever  on  the  alert 
for  his  own  aggrandizement,  the  coronation  of 
Cotton  soon  placed  him  in  the  category  of  the 
"  King's"  most  humble  subjects.  Uncottoned  him 
self,  he  paid  his  court  to  the  wealthy  courtiers  of 
the  woolly  monarch,  and,  by  his  unscrupulous  ad 
hesion  to  His  Majesty,  won  the  post  of  Grand  Cham 
pion  of  his  throne.  Inflated  by  the  popularity 
which  he  received  from  the  dispensers  of  public 
favor, — the  planters, — there  was  no  deed  too  black, 
no  means  too  corrupt  for  the  achievement  of  his 
ends.*  What  wrould  have  been  in  a  good  cause, 


*  "  MONTGOMERY,  June  15,  1858. 
"DEAR  Sin: — 

"  Your  kind  letter  of  the  15th  is  received.     I  hardly  agree 
with  you  that  a  general  movement  can  be  made  that  will  clean 


SCENE    THE    SEVENTH.  213 

sustained  by  truth,  a  divine  enthusiam,  was  in 
the  mind  of  a  perjurer,  but  the  excitement  of  am 
bition  in  its  hot  pursuit  of  personal  success. 

It  is  my  firm  conviction  that  Mr.  Yancey  s  am 
bition  aspires  to  the  throne  itself.  What  easier 
lor  an  eloquent  man,  after  filling  the  public  tongue 
with  the  enthusiastic  monosyllable  "  King,"  ap 
plied  to  an  invisible  but  omnipresent  idea,  than  to 


out  tlie  Augean  Stable.  If  the  Democracy  were  overthrown,  it 
would  result  in  giving  place  to  a  greater  and  a  hungrier  sicarm 
of  flies. 

"  The  remedy  of  the  South  is  not  in  such  a  process.  It  is  in 
a  diligent  organization  of  her  true  men  for  the  prompt  resist 
ance  of  the  next  aggression.  It  must  come  in  the  nature  of 
things.  No  national  party  can  save  us,  no  sectional  party  can 
ever  do  it.  But,  if  we  should  do  as  our  fathers  did — organize 
committees  of  safety  all  over  the  Cotton  States  (and  it  is  only  in 
them  we  can  hope  for  any  effective  movement), — we  shall  fire 
the  Southern  heart,  instruct  the  Southern  mind,  give  courage 
to  each  other,  and,  at  the  proper  moment,  by  one  organized, 
concerted  action,  we  can  precipitate  the  Cotton  States  into  a 
revolution. 

"  The  idea  has  been  shadowed  forth  in  the  South  by  Mr. 
Ruffin, — has  been  taken  up  and  recommended  by  the  Adver 
tiser  under  the  name  of  '  League  of  United  Southerners/  who, 
keeping  up  the  old  party  relations  on  all  other  questions,  will 
hold  the  Southern  issue  paramount,  and  will  influence  parties, 
Legislatures,  and  statesmen.  I  have  no  time  to  enlarge,  but  to 
suggest  merely. 

"  In  haste,  Yours,  &c., 

"W.  L.  YANCEY. 

"To  JAMES  SLAUGHTER,  Esq." 

Dr.  Slaughter,  having  published  the  above  "private  letter," 
as  Mr.  Yancey  afterward  called  it,  was  found  dead  in  his  bed 
from  the  'effects  of  poison  ! 


21-1:  THE    ALABAMA    REFUGEE. 

fill  that  same  tongue  with  his  own  name,  as  the 
main  prop  of  the  monarchy,  and,  in  the  absence 
of  any  tangible  superstructure,  to  become  the 
very  "  King''  in  name  he  had  already  become  in 
substance.  There  is  no  question  in  my  mind  that 
Jefferson  Davis  also  beholds  the  same  glittering 
vision.  Alexander  II.  Stephens,  had  retired  to 
private  life,  until  the  mandate  of  "  King  Cotton" 
called  him  forth  to  contradict  himself,  for  a  pro 
motion  higher  than  any  he  had  ever  before  dream 
ed  of. 

The  abilities  of  William  L.  Yancey  will  ulti 
mately  make  him  the  first  in  the  Confederacy, 
unless  a  reaction  occurs,  which  could  easily  be  pro 
duced  by  the  rise  of  a  National  party  in  the  North. 
From  the  non-slaveholders  he  has  stolen  their 
rights ;  but  he  has  made  the  slaveholders  his 
dupes,  his  instruments  —  for  they  are  his  only 
beneficiaries.  He  is  ever  wedded  to  their  in 
terests,  and  they  to  his  by  the  base  disintegration 
of  the  Democratic  party,  at  Charleston.  The  res 
toration  of  Nationality  to  that  party  would  be  his 
greatest  punishment. 

The  subject — however  interesting — must  be,  for 
the  present,  abandoned,  as  the  personal  narrative 
of  one  of  Mr.  Yancey's  many  victims  progresses. 

The  depot  is  reached — a  ticket  purchased — the 
car  is  entered — a  rear  seat  occupied — a  newspaper 
unfolded,  and  the  persecuted,  but  guiltless  citizen, 
apparently  engrossed  in  its  contents,  keeps  a  con 
tinual  scrutiny  upon  the  persons  entering  the  train. 


SCENE    THE    SEVENTH.  215 

Soon,  the  gathering  feet  of  incomers,  the  musi 
cal  voices  of  women,  the  harsher  tones  of  men,  all 
commingling  in  denunciation  of  the  Union,  are 
the  sounds ;  Secession  cockades,  blue  ribbons,  in 
scribed  with  "  Resistere  Lincolni  est  obedientia 
Deo"  Secession  newspapers — these  are  the  sights. 

It  wras,  of  course,  a  relief  to  me,  when  the 
whistle  blew,  and,  with  its  living  freight,  the  loco 
motive  started.  The  rattling  of  the  cars  soon 
drowned  all  voices  save  that  of  Memory. 

Whither  was  I  going  ?  Should  I  successfully 
run  the  gauntlet  of  the  State — of  the  South — what 
spot  of  earth  could  I  call  home  f  Where  could  I 
find  a  mother — brother — wife?  Was  I  leaving 
my  children,  my  home,  forever  ?  What  eyes 
would  weep  at  my  departure,  outside  of  my  own 
immediate  family  ?  I  had  friends  in  Montgom 
ery — would  they  dare  to  defend  the  exile  f  Would 
they,  without  a  single  exception,  unite  their  voices 
in  reproach  of  my  oath-keeping  actions  ?  or  would 
some  unquenchable  spirit  vindicate  my  name, 
cherish  my  memory,  and  await  the  day  of  my 
return  f 

Such  was  the  agony  of  my  mind,  that  I  almost 
resolved  to  return  to  the  city  and  to  invite  my 
fate.  It  would  have  been  a  consolation,  at  that 
moment,  if,  devoting  myself  for  the  good  of  my 
fellow- citizens,  1  could  have  seen  on?  soulful  face 
catch  my  spirit  as  it  ascended  and  beam  it  upon 
the  crowd.  If  there  was  in  the  "  City  of  the  Great 
King,"  a  soul  attuned  to  the  music  of  true  South- 


216  THE  ALABAMA  REFUGEE. 

ern  Rights,  that  soul  knew  not  the  fate  of  him  who 
was  being  so  rapidly  hurried  away  from  the  pos 
sibility  of  communication  ! 

The  cars  stopped,  as  if  merely  to  breathe,  at  a 
station.  The  whistle  blew,  again  we  started  in  the 
race  (of  life  for  some,  of  death  for  others),  and 
against  the  background  of  the  forest  which  lined 
the  railroad,  the  following  lines,  from  Moore, 
seemed  traced  in  one  lonec  telegram  : 

O  O 

"  Far  lie  fled — indignant  fled, 

The  pageant  of  his  country's  shame ; 
While  every  tear  her  children  shed 

Fell  on  his  soul  like  drops  of  flame ; 
And,  as  a  lover  hails  the  dawn 

Of  a  first  smile,  so  welcomed  he 
The  sparkle  of  the  first  sword  drawn — " 

For  non-slave-owners'  Liberty. 

Alas !  I  have  not  yet  seen,  although  I  feel  assured 
I  will  some  time  see,  that  bright  day-spring  from 
on  high,  when  my  country's  flag  will  be  the 
cherished  emblem  of  true  Southern  Rights  ! 

O 

The  "  nigger"  can  not  long  continue  to  be  the  all 
absorbing  idea !  There  must  soon  come  a  day  when 
the  poor  white  men  of  this  whole  country  will 
come  in  for  their  rights. 

So  deeply  has  the  administration  party  become 
infatuated  with  one  idea,  that  it  hesitates  at  no 
constitutional  obstacle  for  the  perpetration  of  its 
single  design.  He  who  refuses  to  go  to  the  ultima 
thule  of  their  desperation,  and  to  advocate  the  in 
discriminate  massacre  of  every  loyal  and  disloyal 


SCENE    THE    SEVENTH.  217 

man,  woman,  and  child  of  the  whole  South,  is 
denominated  a  traitor ;  and,  whatever  may  be  his 
love  of  the  flag  of  our  common  country,  whatever 
his  devotion  to  the  name  and  the  written  prin 
ciples  of  Washington,  he  is  tormented  with  the 
suspicion  of  those  whose  unpatriotic  aspiration  is 
the  subjugation  to  provincial  vassalage  of  the 
Southern  States,  rather  than  their  restoration  to 
the  Union. 

Borne,  the  greatest  military  despotism  ever 
known  on  earth,  after  conquering  a  nation,  per 
mitted  it  to  become  an  honored  part  of  her  em 
pire  ;  but  the  Sumners  and  the  Greeleys  would 
be  unsatisfied  with  any  thing  short  of  the  per 
petual  vassalage  (if  they  could  only  secure  it)  of 
every  white  person  of  the  South.  A  loyal  South 
ern  man  they  hate  and  despise,  unless  he  be  also 
a  greater  friend  to 'the  black  man  than  to  his  own 
downtrodden  race.  I  speak  solemnly  and  truly, 
when  I  profess  my  incompetency  to  discover  any 
other  future  for  the  poor  African  than  utter  exter 
mination,  if  the  exasperating  policy  of  the  admin 
istration  be  persisted  in. 

The  Southern  people  (and  I  know  them  well) 
will  never  permit  the  negroes  to  live  among  them, 
nominally  their  equals.  They  will  make  the  South 
too  hot  for  them,  even  if  this  war  were  to  become  a 
nigger-success,  and  the  protegees  of  "  Massa  Gree- 
ley "  would  precipitate  themselves  like  an  avalanche 
upon  Northern  communities — naturally  expecting 
fraternization  and  protection.  These,  everybody 

19 


THE    ALABAMA    UEKUGKiO. 


knows,  would  be  peremptorily  denied  them,  and 
thus  they  would  become  a  race  of  vagabond  ma- 
rauders  upon  society,  until  mobocracy,  that  cruel 
scourge  of  our  country,  would  perpetuate  itself 
upon  their  destruction.  If  wholesome  laws  were 
enacted  for  their  regulation,  their  antecedents 
would  render  it  necessary  to  coerce  them  into  an 
involuntary  obedience.  Negro  equality  in  the 
North,  as  well  as  in  the  South,  is  an  ethnological 
impossibility.  In  saying  this,  I  pay  the  same 
compliment  to  the  white  men  of  the  North  as  to 
those  of  the  South,  Then  would  cc  me  the  next 
danger.  Those  who  say  the  negro  is  superior  to 
the  white  man  would,  of  necessity,  join  him  in  his 
resistance  of  law,  which  his  white  friends  would 
call  another  kind  of  slavery.  This  would  increase 
the  numbers  of  the  negroes,  but  not  their  respecta 
bility,  and  scenes  of  horror  would  be  the  result, 
which  would  render  the  brutalities  of  Southern 
mobs  no  longer  a  "  peculiar  institution." 

The  proposition  I  made  to  the  non-slaveholders 
of  Alabama,  to  confine,  by  law,  the  institution  to 
the  cotton-fields,  including,  of  course,  the  menial 
offices  of  the  household,  and  thus  to  rescue  in  the 
South  lier  mechanical  pursuits  from  the  hated 
negro  equality,  while  it  would  not  have  impaired 
the  intrinsic  value  of  the  property  of  the  planters, 
would  have  restored  the  "poor  white  trash,"  or 
Southern  "  mudsills,"  to  their  long-lost  Southern 
Eights.  This  moderate  course  was  one  of  the 
causes  of  my  banishment;  and  yet,  were  I  to 


SCENE    THE    SEVENTH.  210 

suggest  the  same  thing  as  the  best  policy  of  the 
United  States  Government,  Kadicals  of  all  kinds 
would  be  ready  to  re-echo  the  old  cry,  "  Crucify 
him !" 

A  proclamation  by  the  President,  rescinding 
the  emancipation  proclamation,  and  declaring  all 
mechanical  pursuits  in  the  South  to  be  sacred  to 
the  white  man's  free  labor,  at  the  same  time 
confining  the  negroes  in  the  Gulf  States  to  the 
cultivation  of  cotton,  sugar,  and  rice,  and  to 
menial  household  occupations;  while,  in  the  Bor 
der  States,  the  mechanical  pursuits  being  made 
equally  free,  the  slaves  shall  be  confined  to  the 
culture  of  tobacco  and  hemp,  and  to  menial 
household  employments,  would  create  an  awaken 
ing  and  a  revulsion  in  the  South  wThich  would 
restore  the  Union  and  save  the  administration. 

The  looms  of  manufacturing  cities,  domestic  and 

O 

foreign,  would  then  be  better  than  ever  supplied, 
the  planters  would  be  reduced  from  their  aristo 
cratic  'pretensions,  while  not  the  least  of  its  bless 
ings  would  be  the  disinthrallinent  of  the  non- 
slave-owners,  and,  at  the  same  time,  the  Union 
feeling  of  the  South,  so  long  held  in  check  by  the 
un-national,  un-Caucasian,  and  un-constitutional 
course  of  the  present  infatuated  administration. 

After  what  seemed  to  be  an  age,  I  arrived  at 
West  Point,  Georgia,  whence  I  dispatched  several 
letters  to  my  brother,  Marion  C.  Tharin,  an  engi 
neer  on  the  Charleston  and  Hamburgh  railroad, 


220  THE    ALABAMA    HOT  GEE. 

requesting  him  to  bring,  or  send,  some  money  to 
me,  as  I  was  fleeing  from  Mobocracy,  and  had  left, 
in  my  haste,  all  save  a  few  dollars. 

Two  days  of  suspense  elapsed  hut  no  letter  came. 
Not  only  was  my  money  ebbing  away  but  my  ex 
posure  was  becoming  imminent.  To  earn  enough 
to  bear  me  away  was  my  first  thought.  I  am  an 
excellent  penman,  and  my  previous  occupation  of 
teaching  suggested  something  in  that  line  as  the 
proper  mode. 

I  saw  some  young  ladies  amusing  themselves 
on  the  green,  in  front  of  a  long,  low,  white 
building,  which  I  judged  to  be  the  seminary. 
I  approached  the  building  and  inquired  whether 
it  was  an  academy.  I  was  politely  informed, 
by  a  young  lady,  that  it  was,  and  that  its  pre 
ceptress  was  then  expected  every  moment — that, 
if  I  would  walk  in  and  be  seated,  she  would  be  in 
formed,  upon  her  arrival,  that  some  one  wished  to 
see  her. 

I  entered  the  building  and  sat  down  in  a  kind  of 
parlor,  where  I  had  not  long  to  wait  before  the  in 
tellectual  face  of  the  principal  was  presented  at  the 
door.  I  rose  respectfully,  bowed  profoundly,  and 
gave  my  name  as  Percy.  Presenting  the  lady  a 
chair,  wre  were  soon  immersed  in  a  conversation, 
which  I  am  afraid  detained  her  from  more  import 
ant,  if  not  more  interesting  occupations. 

After  a  pleasant  and  rather  discursive  conversa 
tion,  I  bowed  myself  out  of  the  door,  hat  in  hand, 
with  a  vague  presentiment  that,  unless  relief  came 


SCENE    THE    SEVENTH.  221 

soon,  my  failure  to  obtain  a  writing-class  in  that 
seminary  would  result  in  the  most  disastrous  fail 
ure  of  my  life. 

Turning  away  I  was  proceeding  toward  the 
hotel,  when  a  beautiful  and  intelligent  face  beamed 
a  recognition  upon  me.  For  one  brief  moment 
I  stood  transfixed  with  incertitude,  not  knowing 
whether  or  not  to  speak.  The  last  time  I  had  seen 
that  face  was  in  "Wetumpka,  Alabama,  where  a 
frequent  visitor  at  the  house  of  Col.  Saxon,  a 
staunch  Democrat  of  the  Senator  Fitzpatrick 
School,  I  was  often  thrown,  before  and  since  my 
marriage,  into  her  company. 

My  hesitation  was  but  momentary,  however. 
For  the  first  time  in  my  life,  I  purposely  turned 
away  without  speaking,  from  a  lady  of  my  ac 
quaintance.  Assuming  the  disguises  of  a  stoop 
and  a  limp — neither  of  which  is  even  remotely 
characteristic  of  my  ordinary  mode  of  procedure,— 
I  hobbled  away  to  the  infinite  surprise  of  Miss 
Charlotte  Cherry,  whose  wonder-stricken  counte 
nance  had  not  yet  recovered  its  wonted  expression, 
when  I  threw  a  retrospective  glance  over  my 
shoulder. 

The  presence  of  an  acquaintance  in  the  Cotton 
State  of  Georgia,  who  knew  me  to  be  in  West 
Point — if  she  had  recognized  me,  and  who,  if  she 
had  not,  would,  woman-like,  inform  her  friends  in 
Alabama  of  the  singular  likeness  between  me  and 
the  gentleman  who  had  visited  the  school — was  a 
spur  to  my  speed.  The  idea  of  remaining  there 
19* 


THE   ALABAMA    REFUGEE. 

was  simply  ridiculous.  I  might  have  applied, 
with  impunity,  to  Miss  Cherry  for  aid  in  pro 
curing  a  situation  in  that  academy  ;  but  I  would 
not  involve  her  young  life  in  the  mesh  of  ruin  in 
which  King  Cotton  had  involved  me. 

I  had  already  suffered  considerable  anxiety,  on 
account  of  the  manner  toward  me  of  the  railroad 
conductor  from  Montgomery,  who  rested  each  day 
a  scrutinizing  glance  upon  me,  and,  even,  at  last, 
asked  me  whether  we  had  met  before.  There  had 
been  no  previous  acquaintance,  and  so  1  said.  The 
man  looked  dissatisfied. 

As  soon  as  the  return  train  started  for  Mont 
gomery,  I  repaired  to  a  teacher  of  the  town,  and 
laid  my  case  before  him.  The  good  Christian 
heard  me  with  tears,  and  invited  me  to  dinner. 
There  I  was  introduced  to  his  family,  who  seemed 
very  kind  and  sympathizing,  although  no  word 
from  the  reverend  gentleman  described  my  pre 
dicament.  The  next  northward  train  approaching, 
that  true  Christian  gentleman  went  to  the  cars  in 
company  with  his  guest  whom  he  had  furnished 
with  money  to  Chattanooga,  Tennessee. 

The  reader  will  remember  the  great  excitement 
of  that  time,  the  hatred  of  the  cotton-planters  to 
myself  and  my  cause,  and  will  not  fail  to  see  how 
important  to  the  subsequent  advantage  of  the 
non-slaveholding  whites  of  the  South  was  my 
escape  —  that  is,  the  preservation  of  my  testi 
mony. 

Arrived  at  Chattanooga,  I  registered  my  name 


SCENE    THE    SEVENTH.  223 

as  R,  Seymour  (which  is  a  part  of  my  name);  I 

was   about   seeking   my   apartment  when   I  was 

"brought  up   all  standing''  at  the  door  by  the 

familiar  sound  : 
"  Robert!" 
I  turned  and  beheld  a  fair  complected  youth 

standing  in  the  "  passage." 

REFUGEE.  "  You  have  the  advantage,  sir." 
YOUTH.  "Don't  you  remember  me,  Robert?" 
REFUGEE.  "  I  expect  you  make  a  mistake." 
YOUTH.    "  Don't   you   remember   Joseph   Ren- 

ard  ?" 

REFUGEE.  "  You  still  have  the  advantage,  sir." 
YJOUTH.  "Did  you  not  attend  the  Sunday-school 

at   St.    John's    Chapel,   Charleston,    many   years 


REFUGEE.  "  I  did." 

YOUTH.  "  I  was  a  pupil  in  the  class  taught  by 
your  '  Uncle  Edward.' >: 

We  shook  hands  where  we  had  conversed,  full 
in  view  and  hearing  of  the  book-keeper. 

We  took  a  walk  together.  Renard  was  an  en 
gineer  on  the  Charleston  and  Chattanooga  rail 
road.  He  expressed  great  sympathy  for  the 
nephew  of  his  former  Sunday  school  teacher,  and 
offered  to  procure  me  a  free  passage  on  the  engine 
to  Nashville,  the  engineer  being  his  friend.  But, 
repenting  of  his  shallow  impulse,  the  backslidden 
Sunday-scholar  left  his  "friend"  to  his  fate.  I 
blush  to  admit  that  Renard  is  a  non-slave 
owner. 


22-i  THE    ALABAMA    REFUGEE. 

No  time  was  to  be  lost.  The  mob  feeling  had 
not  yet  culminated  at  Chattanooga ;  but  to  my 
eye — which  was  somewhat  initiated,  I  may  say- 
there  were  unmistakable  signs  in  the  political 
horizon.  Again  betaking  myself  to  a  clergyman 
I  wras  aided  on  my  way  to  Cincinnati. 

Not  feeling  secure  in  the  fidelity  of  Joseph  Een- 
ard,  I  returned  to  the  hotel,  paid  my  bill,  and 
started  for  the  Lookout  station  on  foot.  As  I  was 
leaving  the  desk,  the  bookkeeper  said  : 

"Good  morning,  Mr.  Tharin." 

I  suppose  I  owe  that  salutation  and  its  accom 
panying  wink  to  Joseph  Renard,  or  else  to  him 
and  my  interlocutor  together.  The  clerk  looked 
surprised,  when,  with  a  calm  smile,  I  returned  his 
salutation. 

I  was  completely  exhausted  when  I  arrived  at 
the  station.  Some  workmen  were  employed  in 
bringing  clay  in  cars,  and  emptying  it  along  the 
road.  Upon  inquiry  I  found  that  some  time  would 
elapse  before  the  train  would  pass.  A  gentle 
manly  person  approached  and  invited  me  to  sup 
per.  I  accepted  ;  but  much  did  I  wish  afterward 
that  I  had  declined.  The  language  of  the  host 
consisted  in  an  interminable  panegyric  on  Jeffer 
son  Davis.  Several  times  I  was  on  the  eve  of  be 
traying  myself  by  an  imprudent  outburst.  I  took 
good  care  seemingly  to  agree  with  mine  host,  and 
evinced  an  intimate  knowledge  of  the  late  move 
ments  of  his  pet,  to  the  great  delight  of  himself, 
and  of  his  gaping  family.  But,  even  the  most 


SCENE    THE    SEVKNTH. 

unpleasant  circumstances  have  an  end,  and  the 
whistle  of  the  locomotive  cheered  the  sinking 
heart  of  the  impatient  traveler. 

Of  my  arrival  at  Cincinnati  I  have  already 
treated  in  the  Introduction  to  this  personal  narra 
tive,  to  which  the  reader's  attention  is  again  invited 
for  any  personal  testimonials  he  may  have  lost  sight 
of.  It  will  be  remembered  that  in  that  chapter  are 
set  forth  the  proofs  of  my  statements  from  the  Ca- 
hawba  Gazette  (Dallas  county,  Ala.),  as  dictated  by 
one  of  the  mob,  Kobert  Eives,  and  of  the  Mays- 
ville  (Ky.)  Eagle.  In  that  chapter  also  are  contained 
letters  from  Hon.  Milton  Sayler  and  Samuel  Low- 
ry,  Esq.,  of  Cincinnati,  establishing  my  identity; 
from  Judge  Stallo  and  Rev.  E.  G.  Robinson,  of 
the  ^nth-street  Baptist  Church,  as  to  my  habits 
and  character;  from  William  L.  Yancey,  dated 
1859,  in  relation  to  our  former  law-partnership; 
from  B.  P.  Baker,  Esq.,  then  of  Cincinnati,  now  of 
New  York,  dated  August  11, 1862,  recommending 
me  for  loyalty,  and  alluding  to  the  Union  speech 
I  had  the  honor  to  deliver  to  a  large  concourse  of 
Cincinnatians ;  extracts  from  the  Richmond  (Ind.) 
Palladium,  and  the  Centerville  (Tud.)  True  Re 
publican,  in  relation  to  my  (involuntary)  enlist 
ment,  as  a  private  in  the  ranks,  to  the  credit  of 
which  the  Radicals  of  that  little  town  are  entitled ; 
letters  from  Judge  Perry  and  Benjamin  Davis, 
Esq.,  to  the  Colonel  of  the  16th  Indiana;  the  cer 
tificate  of  Captain  Welsh,  7th  Indiana,  Com- 


226          THE  ALABAMA  REFUGEE. 

pany  D.,  as  to  my  actions  at  the  Union  victory  at 
Winchester,  Mffrcli  23,  1862,  and  a  copy  of  my 
letter  to  the  London  Daily  News,  entitled  "  Yan- 
cey  and  the  Slave-trade,"  which  was  written  in 
reply  to  a  note  from  Mr.  Yancey  to  the  London 
Times ,  denying  his  advocacy  of  its  renewal.  My 
reason  for  commencing  this  "Personal  Narrative" 
with  the  documents,  alluded  to  above,  was  avow 
edly  to  prove  my  claim  to  the  attention  of  my 
fellow-citizens — to  "pave  the  way"  to  a  better 
understanding  of  the  autobiography  which  was  to 
follow. 

Living  all  my  life,  up  to  the  time  of  my  exile, 
in  the  sunny  South,  I  claim  to  be  better  acquaint 
ed  with  her  domestic  condition  than  those  who 
have  only  seen  the  country  through  the  eyes  of 
others ;  and  it  may  not  be  amiss  for  me  to  dwell 
for  a  short  time  upon  the  exciting  subject  of  this 
gigantic  rebellion,  viewed  in  the  general  relations 
of  the  North  with  the  South,  and  vice  versa. 

In  the  second  chapter  of  this  narrative,  I  have 
given  the  concluding  portion  of  my  speech  to  the 
citizens  of  Buyckville  and  vicinity,  which  affords 
a  veracious  and  unanswerable  exposition  of  the 
relative  number  and  actual  condition  of  the  twTo 
classes  of  the  Cotton  States,  viz.,  the  owners  of 
slaves,  and  the  owners  of  no  slaves.  In  that 
speech,  I  protested  against  the  tyranny  of  King 
Cotton,  and  contrasted  the  non-resident  majority 
of  the  North  with  the  resident  minority  of  the 
South,  in  a  manner  which  was  by  no  means  flat- 


SCENE    THE    SEVENTH. 


00' 


tering  to  either  the  one  or  the  other.  It  will  he 
remembered  that  I  concluded  that  address  with 
this  peroration  : 

"  That  oath  is  registered  in  heaven!  I  make  no 
lio-lit  and  foolish  vows.  That  oath  I  intend  to 

o 

keep  always  ;  and,  if  I  lose  all  the  tranquillity 
and  peace  of  mind  I  possess,  that  oath  shall  never, 
at  God's  bar,  reproach  me,  as  it  will  yet  reproach 
many  other  lawyers  and  officers  of  Alabama  with 
perjury  !"  Also  : 

"  In  conclusion  :  what  I  have  said,  I  have  said 
in  strict  accordance  with  '  Southern  Rights?  If  I 
have  the  misfortune  to  differ  with  men  of  wealth 
and  influence,  it  shall,  at  least,  never  be  said  of 
K.  S.  Tharin,  that  he  is  afraid  to  give  a  reason 
for  the  faith  that  is  in  him  !" 

The  reader  will  perceive,  from  this  quotation, 
that  I  feel  as  much  bound  "  to  support  the  Con 
stitution  and  the  Union''  as  I  ever  did,  and  that  I 
am  still  unpledged  to  any  other  course  ! 

From  the  manner  in  which  I  have  already  de 
fended  the  Constitution  and  the  Union  in  the 
South,  it  is  easy  to  see  whether  a  radical  course 
can  consistently  be  expected  of  me  now,  or  at  any 
future  time,  in  the  North. 


I  have  now  completed  a  part  of  the  undertaking 
I  have  assumed ;  and,  perhaps,  here  I  should 
pause,  as  at  the  last  milestone  on  a  rough  and 
perilous  road,  but  I  can  not.  The  same  oath, 


228  TFIE    ALABAMA    EEFUGKK. 

which,  in  the  sight  of  God  and  man,  I  registered 
in  the  sweet  spring  of  1859,  at  Rockford  court 
house,  Coosa  county,  Alabama,  still  animates  my 
conscience,  and  demands  my  activity. 

In  the  foregoing  pages,  I  have  attempted  to  de 
pict  the  atrocities  of  that  Reign  of  Terror  which 
culminated  in  deeds  of  license  and  of  blood,  which 
violated  the  sanctity  of  law,  which  disregarded 
the  awful  sanction  of  solemn  oaths,  which  ravened 
at  the  throats  of  Justice,  Mercy,  and  the  Constitu 
tion.  I  have  "nothing  extenuated,  nor  set  down 
aught  in  malice ;"  but,  were  I  to  stop  here,  I  would 
be  unworthy  the  martyrdom  I  have  suffered  for 
the  liberty  of  speech- — that  birthright  of  Ameri 
cans  everywhere;  unworthy  of  my  whig  ancestry 
of  1776,  who  fought  to  insure  me  the  rights  of 
Magna  Charta  under  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States !  Action  and  Reaction  being  "  equal 
and  in  opposite  directions,"  the  scenes  which  filled 
the  South  with  horror  and  disgrace,  have  been, 
alas !  re-enacted  in  the  North,  and,  long  after  a 
shadow  of  excuse  seems,  even  to  the  most  bigoted 
Radical,  to  exist  for  the  most  unconstitutional  pro 
cedures,  American  citizens  are,  upon  the  slightest 
pretences,  hauled  before  military  satraps,  antl  in 
carcerated  in  loathsome  dungeons,  hopeless  of  re 
lease,  and  beyond  the  benign  reach  of  the  Consti 
tution  itself. 

It  is  the  duty  of  every  lawyer  who  has  taken  the 
lawyer's  oath,  to  remonstrate  openly  and  at  the 


SCENE    THE    SEVENTH.  229 

risk  of  life,  if  need  be,  against  these  unjustifiable 
and  unconstitutional  usurpations! 

Here,  in  the  Northern  States — here,  in  the  na 
tional  capital — where  armed  rebellion  has  left  no 
footprint  upon  the  soil, 'the  people  should  be  left 
to  discuss,  in  primary  assemblages,  their  interests 
as  a  people.  The  people  of  the  Northern  not  less 
than  of  the  Southern  Slates,  are  denied  that  right 
by  armed  minorities,  who  madly  persist  in  making 
a  political  bias  the  test  of  loyalty.  The  man  who 
submits  to  such  an  outrage,  North  or  South,  is  a 
slave.  The  voice  of  Washington  has  long  since 
been  drowned  in  the  clamor  of  demagogues  a«d 
the  roar  of  artillery.  The  22d  of  February,  1863, 
which  has  scarcely  left  the  present,  bears  to  the 
record  of  the  past  only  reproaches  for  our  slavish- 
ness  and  demands  on  our  thoughtful  and  rnoet 
candid  consideration.  Is  the  Union,  bequeathed  to 
us  by  the  Father  of  our  country,  to  be  lost  in  the 
maelstrom  of  war,  because  no  man  dare  incur  the 
fearful  risk  of  proposing  a  plan  of  reconstruction  ? 
Are  American  citizens,  North  and  South,  the  abject 
slaves  of  their  respective  tyrannies?  Why  do 
they  not  restore  the  democratic  party  to  its  na 
tionality,  and  reconstruct  the  Union  upon  the 
ruins  of  sectionalism  ?  "Would  any  humble  citizen 
of  either  section  be  the  worse  off  because  of  the 
re-establishment  of  law  ?  Are  we  so  much  at 
tached  to  the  names  of  our  corrupters  as  to  desire 
the  perpetuity  of  their  sanguinary  rule?  lias 
martial  law  done  so  much  for  the  sections  that  both 

20 


230  THE    ALABAMA    REFUGEE. 

preterit  to  the  Union  of  our  forefathers?  Does  a 
military  despotism  in  either  section  delight  the 
victims  of  an  artificial  crisis — on  the  despotic  and 
un-American  basis  of  "  military  necessity  ?"  Have 
the  people  of  the  "  loyal  North"  forgotten  the  prin 
ciple  adopted  by  an  almost  unanimous  Congress 
for  the  prosecution  of  this  war  ?  What  were  their 
words  ? 

"  That  this  war  is  not  waged  on  their  part  in  any 
spirit  of  oppression,  or  for  any  purpose  of  over 
throwing  or  interfering  with  the  rights  and  estab 
lished  institutions  of  the  States,  but  to  defend  and 
maintain  the  supremacy  of  the  Constitution,  and 
to  preserve  the  Union  with  all  the  dignity,  equality, 
and  rights  of  the  several  States  unimpaired,  and 
that,  as  soon  as  these  objects  are  accomplished, 
the  war  ought  to  cease." 

The  duty  of  a  State  in  rebellion  is  to  return  to 
the  Union — but  radicals  insinuate  that,  having 
seceded,  they  have  degenerated  into  territories 
and  must  become  subject  to  the  will  of  the  minor 
ity  who  now  hold  the  archives  of  the  National 
Government.  The  wildest  theories  and  most  crazy 
theorists  have  perforated  the  brain  of  the  Cabinet, 
and  CHASE  each  other,  like  maggots,  around  the 
raw  head  and  bloody  bones  of  the  Presidential 
edict.  The  President,  despairing  of  the  support 
of  the  conservative  people  of  the  country  in  car 
rying  out  his  own  personal  notions,  has  appe'aled 
in  "  the  proclamation"  to  the  negroes,  whose  ante 
cedents  have  proved  them  no  warrior  race,  who, 


SCRNK    THE    SEVENTH.  231 

us  a  people,  cannot  read  his  decree,  and  whose 
masters  have  coerced  not  only  them,  but,  also,  the 
white  Unionists  who  once  doubted  the  designs  of 

O 

the  ISTorthern  radicals. 

In  the  chapter  of  this  work,  styled  SCENE  TIIK 
FIFTH,  I  have  shown  that  the  non-slave-owners  of 
the  South  are  doomed  to  a  partial  negro-equality 
through  the  abuse,  by  the  planters,  of  the  institu 
tion  of  Slavery,  which,  like  all  other  institutions, 
is  subject  to  abuse,  and  that  the  only  shadow  of 
superiority  left  them  by  the  Rebel  leaders  is  the 
nominal  and  actual  slavery  of  the  inferior  race. 

There  was — may  it  soon  return  ! — a  time  when 
the  division  between  the  Disunionists  and  Unionists 
of  the  South  constituted  the  greatest  obstacle  in  the 
path  of  the  Rebellion,  although  covered  up  by  the 
plastic  hand  of  Deception.  Skillfully  and  patriot 
ically  addressed,  the  old  Union  feeling  of  the 
South,  which  for  almost  half  a  century  had  stood 
the  test  of  the  united  efforts  of  the  Aristocrats, 
would  have  risen  in  overwhelming  force  to 
crush  out  rebellion  in  their  midst;  but  the  Ad 
ministration  has  seen  fit  to  address  the  negroes  on 
a  subject  beyond  their  comprehension  (and  their 
true  interests,  by  the  by),  and  thus  has  disgusted 
and  alienated  the  conservatism  of  the  white  people 
of  the  South,  who  can  only  be  won  back  to  their 
Unionism  by  the  wise  and  prudent  action  of  the 
Conservatives  of  the  North. 

The  following  extract  from  "  Jeff.  Davis's  Mes 
sage,"  while  it  confirms  the  historical  portion  of 


THE    ALABAMA    REFUGEE. 

the  above  argument,  at  the  same  time,  enforces 
the  conclusion  by -admitting  the  premises: 

"  In  its  political  aspects  this  measure  possesses 
great  significance,  and  to  it,  in  this  light,  I  invite 
your  attention.  It  affords  to  our  whole  people  the 
complete  and  crowning  proof*  of  the  true  nature  of 
the  designs  of  the  party  which  elevated  to  power 
the  present  occupant  of  the  Presidential  Chair  at 
Washington,  and  which  sought  to  conceal  its  pur 
pose  by  every  variety  of  artful  device,  and  by  the 
perfidious  use  of  the  most  solemn  and  repeated 

pledges  on  every  possible  occasion The 

people  of  the  Confederacy,  then,  can  not  fail  to 
receive  this  proclamation  as  the  fullest  vindica 
tion  of  their  own  sayacity  in  foreseeing  the  uses  to 
which  the  dominant  party  in  the  United  States 
intended  from  the  beginning  to  apply  their  power  ; 
nor  can  they  cease  to  remember  with  devout 
thankfulness  that  it  is  to  their  own  vigilance  in 
resisting  the  first  stealthy  progress  of  approaching 
despotism  that  they  owe  their  escape  from  conse 
quences  now  apparent  i>o  the  most  skeptical^ 

"  It  is,  also,  in  effect,  an  intimation  to  the  peo 
ple  of  the  North  that  they  must  prepare  to  submit 
to  a  separation,  now  become  inevitable  \\  for  that 
people  are  too  acute  not  to  understand  that  a  resto- 

*  Of  wliat  the  planters  most  eagerly  desire  of  all  things. 

f  Now  apparent  to  those  who  were  for  the  Union  while 
they  doubted  it — he  means. 

\  Because  of  the  blind  folly  of  the  Administration  in  antag 
onizing  every  element  of  the  South. 


SCEXE    THE    SEVENTH.  233 

ration  of  the  Union  lias  been  rendered  forever  im 
possible  by  the  adoption  of  a  measure  which,  from 
its  nature,  neither  admits  of  retraction  nor  can  co 
exist  with  them.* 

"Humanity  shudders  at  the  appalling  atrocities 
which  are  being  daily  multiplied  under  the  sanc 
tion  of  those  who  have  claimed  temporary  \  pos 
session  of  the  power  in  the  United  States,  and  who 
are  fast  making  its  once  fair  name  a  by-word  of 
reproach  among  civilized  men.  Not  even  the 
natural  indignation  inspired  by  this  conduct 
should  make  us,  however,  so  unjust  as  to  attribute 
to  the  whole  mass  of  the  people,  who  are  subjected 
to  the  despotism  that  now  reigns  with  unbridled 
license  in  the  city  of  Washington,  a  willing  ac 
quiescence  in  the  conduct  of  the  war.  There 
must  necessarily  exist  among  our  enemies,  very 
many ,  perhaps  a,  majority,  whose  humanity  recoils 
from  all  participation  in  such  atrocities,  hut  who 
can  not  he  held  wholly  guiltless,  while  permitting 
their  continuance  without  an  effort  at  repression" 
A  bid  to  Northern  Secessionists. 

The  last  sentence  of  the  above  message  of  the 


*  You  see  lie  does  not  desire  its  retraction,  having  labored 
to  produce  it — but  the  Conservatives  will  yet  repeal  it  in  time 
to  save  the  Union.  Foreign  mediation  we  do  not  want — will 
not  permit — but  the  mediation  of  the  common  sense  of  the 
American  masses — that  we  will  have ! 

f  This  word  is  used  to  confound  the  counsels  of  the  Union 
ists  of  the  South,  who  are  willing  to  return  under  certain 
circumstances,  and  is  used  as  a  dissuasive  argument. 
20* 


234:  TUE    ALABAMA    REFUGEE. 

despot  of  the  South,  is  a  two-edged  sword  which 
militates  against  his  own  desires  as  well  as  against 
the  desires  of  the  despot  of  the  North.  Both  have 
become  obnoxious  to  the  majority  in  both  sections, 
and  both  will  perish  in  the  indignation  which,  now 
agitates  the  American  blood  of  the  "very  many 
(in  both  sections)  perhaps  majorities,  whose  hu 
manity  recoils  from  all  participation  in  such  atroci 
ties,  ~but  who  can  not  he  held  wholly  guiltless  while 
permitting  their  continuance  (in  either  section) 
without  an  effort  at  repression" 

Let  Jeff.  Davis  remember  that  there  are  Con 
servatives  South  as  well  as  North,  and  in  the  name 
of  both  I  proclaim  that  "  the  Union  must  and  shall 
be  preserved,"  forcibly  if  we  must — peaceably  if 
we  can  ! 

The  proclamation  of  the  President  is  impolitic 
as  a  "war  measure,"  because,  in  theory,  it  removes 
from  the  poor  conscript  of  the  South  the  only 
proof  of  his  superiority  to  the  black  slave,  and 
thus  arms  him  with  a  vengeance  against  the  Pres 
ident,  which,  with  all  his  vaporing,  he  never  felt 
before.  It  affords  an  excuse,  also,  for  the  con 
scription  of  the  black  into  the  armies  of  Secession 
to  meet  the  "  black  soldiers"  of  the  President,  and 
tends  to  the  ultimate  extirpation  of  the  negro  race 
by  a  "  military  necessity."  Such  is  the  philan 
thropy  of  the  measure ! 

The  duty  of  this  Government  is  to  weaken  the 
Rebels  by  its  good  policy,  while  it  overwhelms  their 
armies  by  its  power.  If  it  fails  to  conquer  them 


SCENE    THE    SEVENTH.  235 

by  arms  and  good  policy  combined,  it  must  be 
because  of  their  numbers,  or  of  their  intrench- 
ments,  or  of  their  strategy,  or  of  their  unity,  or 
of  some  or  all  of  these  combined.  If  any  act  of 
the  Government,  or  of  him  who  dictatorially  con 
stitutes  himself  the  Government,  be  calculated, 
proprio  vigore,  to  increase  the  numbers  or  the 
unity  of  the  Rebels,  to  strengthen  their  intrench- 
inents,  to  improve  their  strategy,  or  to  produce 
some  or  all  of  these  bad  results,  then  is  that  act 
impolitic  and  unmilitary. 

Now  I  have  proved,  and  have  made  Jeff.  Davis 
himself  an  unwilling  witness,  that  the  Emancipa 
tion  Proclamation  is  the  very  best  means  of  har 
monizing  the  otherwise  conflicting  interests  of  the 
Rebels,  by  taking  away  from  the  non-slave-owner 
of  the  South  the  only  proof  he  has  of  his  political 
superiority  to  the  slave-owner's  black  serf,  and  his 
only  argument  against  the  planter.  Therefore,  I 
have  proved  from  a  Southern  point  of  view,  that 
the  proclamation  is  impolitic  and  unmilitary. 

From  a  Northern  point  of  view,  the  "imperial 
policy"  of  the  President  is  very  poor  policy,  be 
cause  it  obviously  produces  the  most  lamentable 
results  upon  the  people  and  the  soldiery.  There 
fore,  again  I  say  it  is  impolitic  and  unmilitary. 

But  does  not  the  President  claim  the  right  of 

O 

issuing  his  imperial  edict  by  virtue  of  a  "  military 
necessity  ?" 

How  can  that  be  a  military  necessity  which  is 
itself  ^military  ? 


236  THE  ALABAMA  REFUGEE. 

During  the  Presidential  contest,  which  resulted 
in  the  lamentable  elevation  of — Jeff.  Davis  to  the 
first  office  in  the  so-called  Southern  Confedera 
cy,  it  was  the  favorite  argument  of  the  precipita 
tors  in  the  Cotton  States,  that  negro  equality  was 
the  intention  of  the  Kepublican  party.*  It  seems 
to  me  I  can  see  William  L.  Yancey  addressing  the 
people  of  some  Southern  community  in  these  words : 

"Did  we  not  tell  you  so?  Compare  our  pre 
dictions  with  the  event,  and  you  behold  the  perfect 
proof  of  our  declarations !" 

Thus,  the  shallow  policy  of  the  Administration 
is  calculated  to  produce  the  result  of  confirming 
predictions  upon  which  the  rebellion  was  founded  ! 

This  work  was  written — except  a  few  notes  and 
some  alterations  necessitated  by  the  last  act  of  the 
Radicals — long  before  September  22d,  1862,  and, 
therefore,  is  much  more  calm  in  its  strictly  narra 
tive  parts  than  in  these  concluding  remarks,  which 
are  written  in  alarm  lest  the  last  rail  split  by 
"  Old  Abe"  be  the  Union,  for  which  I  risked  my 
life  in  the  South,  and  for  which  I  risk  my  liberty 
in  the  North !  But  the  "  imperial  policy,"  so- 
called,  of  the  radical  cabinet  is  the  very  policy 
most  desired  by  the  chiefs  of  the  Rebellion,  for, 
while  it  shocks  the  common  sense  of  the  country, 
even  of  Abolitionists,  if  they  have  any,  and  thus 
divides  the  "loyal  North,"  it  "fires  the  Southern 

*  See  p.  44,  for  extract  of  Speech  of  Hon.  Jabez  L.  M.  Curry, 
at  Wetumpka,  Alabama. 


SCENE    THE    SEVENTH. 

heart*'  more  universally  than  did  the  mere  election 
of  him  who  "  presides  over  our  destinies,"  but  is 
blind  to  his  own  ! 

There  is,  however,  one  aspect  of  this  "imperial 
policy,"  which  is  not  calculated  to  soothe  a  spirit, 
who  has  borne  open  testimony  in  the  North*  and 
in  the  Southf  to  his  heart-rending  conviction  that 
.England  is  the  fomenter  of  our  troubles,  and  that 
it  is  her  imperial  policy  to  divide  and  conquer  this 
Union,  even  as  the  two  Grecian  States  of  Athens 
and  Sparta  were  divided  and  conquered  by  the 
machinations  of  Philip  of  Macedon.  Our  Philip 
of  Macedon  sits  (in  petticoats)  upon  the  English 
throne.  Hob-nobbing  with  the  heads  of  rebellion, 
over  which  she  suspended  glittering  coronets,  and 
over  one  a  vice-royal  crown,  she  promised  them 
her  support,  and  after  she  found  them  engaged  as 
"  belligerents,"  she  professed — through  the  London 
Times — her  willingness  to  "recognize'-'  them,  be 
cause  the  North  was  upholding  slavery  by  adher 
ing  to  the  Constitution  of  the  country.  Thus,  by 
skillfully  manipulating  her  puppet  vicegerents  of 
the  North,  she  has  inaugurated  her  "imperial 
policy"  through  Mr.  Chase,  and  scarcely  waits  for 
the  ink  of  the  (British)  proclamation  of  the  Presi 
dent  to  dry,  before  she  publishes,  through  the  Lon 
don  Ti'ititS)  that  slavery  is  to  be  justified  on  Scrip 
tural  grounds.  During  all  this  time,  by  her 
"proclamation"  of  neutrality,  she  puts  in  practice 


*  See  Introduction,  p.  IS.  f  See  p.  47. 


238  THE    ALABAMA    REFUGEE. 

the  "  masterly  inactivity,"  which  the  Roman  his 
torian  Tacitus  unconsciously  suggested  to  Mr. 
Calhoun,  who — plagiarist  as  he  was — appropriated 
the  credit  due  to  another  man. 

It  is  the  old  story.  "  History  is  ever  re-enacting 
itself."  Sparta  was  the  enemy  of  Athens,  even  as 
the  Rebels  of  the  South  are  the  enemies  of  the 
North,  and  the  Macedonian  monarch,  seizing  upon 
domestic  feuds,  first  aggravated,  then  dismembered 
Greece,  which  soon  fell  a  victim  to  the  "  imperial 
policy"  of  a  weaker  but  more  insidious  foe. 

The  three  classes  of  society  in  Sparta,  or  Ancient 
Secessia,  were  exactly  similar  to  the  three  classes 
of  society  in  Modern  Secessia.  If  the  first  had  her 
Homoii,*  or  Superiors,  who  alone  held  office,  the 
second  has  her  First  Families,  or  Planters,  who 
illegally  monopolize  the  official  honors,  emolu 
ments,  and  influence  of  the  South  ;f  if  the  first  had 
her  Hypomeiones4  or  Inferiors,  who  were  allowed 
to  vote  but  not  hold  office,  'by  law,  the  second  has 
her  "  poor  white  trash,"  who  are  excluded  from 
office  against  law  ;f  if  the  first  had  her  Helots,§  or 
Slaves,  who  held  neither  office  nor  vote,  which,  as 
they  were  white  men,  was  wrong,  the  second  has 
her  Africans,  or  Slaves,  who,  being  black,  right 
fully  hold  neither  vote  nor  office. 

Thus  you  perceive  that  Philip  of  Macedon  nat 
urally  sought,  as  allies,  the  Homoii  or  Superiors  of 
Sparta,  who,  growing  tired  of  Grecian  Union, 


*'o/*o«.        f  See  p.  70,  Ante.        ^'Y^/mom.        §'lUor£f. 


SCENE    THE    SEVENTH.  Zo'J 

manifested  the  spirit  of  "  Oh  !  that  we  had  one  of 
the  royal  family  (of  Macedon)  to  rule  over  us!"* 

Ancient  Secessia  had  by  law  two  kings. 

Modern  Secessia  has  "  King  Cotton,"  and  longs 
for  a  British  Prince. 

Thus  the  parallel  is  complete,  and  as  Greece  fell 
from  disunion,  before  the  Macedonian  phalanx,  so 
we  will  fall,  if  we  remain  dismembered — l>otJi 
sections  will  fall — before  European  diplomacy.f 

It  becomes  the  war-ridden  people  of  both  sec 
tions,  therefore,  to  reconstruct  the  Union,  and  to 
present  to  foreign  nations,  once  and  forever,  a 
front  unbroken  and  one. 

Washington  was  right  when  he  said,  "  The 
Union  is  the  palladium  of  your  safety"  !N"or  was 
he  wrong  when  he  wrote : 


*  London  Times  Russell. 

f  The  name  of  NAPOLEON  is  prophetic  of  his  purpose.  By 
dropping  letter  by  letter  from  the  Greek  name,  N«*-wAiov,  we 
have  a  Greek  sentence  complete,  which  signifies — Napoleon 
being  a  lion,  is  going  forth  from  a  lion,  the  destruction  of 
cities. 

We  all  know  that  he  took  refuge,  for  a  time,  in  England, 
the  emblem  of  which  is  a  Lion  ;  when  he  went  to  France  and 
became  emperor,  he,  therefore,  went  from  a  lion,  and  proved  him 
self  a  lion  ;  and  now  he  roars  at  the  cannon's  mouth  at  Puebla 
(next  door  to  the  United  and  Confederate  States),  that  he  has 
come  to  devour  American  cities.  For  the  information  of  the 
curious  I  will  here  state  that  the  Greek  sentence,  foreshadow 
ing  all  this,  runs  thus  :  Ntf-oAcwv.  aroAeov,  TroAfuu',  oAswv,  ASCJV,  ewv,  o» . 

Let  my  countrymen  then  beware  of  mediation  from  Napo 
leon — and  of  Jewett,  whose  name  is  capable  of  a  damaging  and 
ignoble  construction. 


94:0  THE    ALABAMA    KEFUGEE. 

"  There  can  be  no  greater  error  than  to  expect, 
or  calculate  upon,  real,  favors  from  nation  to  nation. 
It  is  an  illusion  which  experience  must  cure,  which 
a  just  pride  ought  to  discard"  * 

But,  in  these  days  of  tumult,  the  radical  howl- 
ings,  North  and  South,  have  drowned  the  voice  of 
the  Father  of  his  Country.  In  vain  he  pleads 
with  his  disobedient  children.  The  Radicals  of 
the  South  and  of  the  North  have  alike  invited 
England  to  interfere  in  our  troubles,  the  one  by 
bidding  for  recognition,  and  the  other  by  bidding 
against  it.  It  is  treason  to  the  whole  people  to 
bid  for  the  subjugation  of  any  part  of  them. 

Meanwhile,  the  Lion  of  England  steals  through 
the  forest,  scenting  his  prey.  His  hot  breath  is 
almost  on  our  faces,  his  inane  is  gradually  bristling 


*  "  FAREWELL  ADDRESS" — all  of  which  seems  at  this  time 
more  like  the  inspiration  of  a  prophet  than  the  production  of  a 
mere  statesman.  The  reader  can  not  too  often  peruse  Washing 
ton's  Farewell  Address.  For  instance,  what  can  be  more  sub 
lime  than  the  following  tearful  plea :  "  In  offering  to  you,  my 
countrymen,  these  counsels  of  an  old  and  affectionate  friend,  I 
dare  not  hope  they  will  make  the  strong  and  lasting  im 
pression  I  could  wish ;  that  they  will  control  the  usual  current  of 
the  passions,  or  prevent  our  nation  from  running  the  course 
which  has  hitherto  marked  the  destiny  of  nations;  but  if  I  may 
even  flatter  myself  that  they  may  be  productive  of  some  partial 
benefit,  some  occasional  good;  that  they  may  now  and  then  recur 
to  moderate,  the  fury  of  party  spirit,  to  warn  against  the  mischiefs 
of  foreign  intrigues,  to  guard  against  the  impostures  of  pretend 
ed  patriotism;  THIS  HOPE  will  be  a  full  recompense  for  the 
solicitude  for  your  welfare  by  which  they  hav^e  been  dictated." 

Shall  that  hope  be  disregarded? 


SCENE    THE    SEVENTH.  241 

with  anticipated  vengeance,  his  roar  will  soon  shake 
the  atmosphere — will  my  countrymen,  North  and 
South,  permit  all  the  blessings  achieved  by  the 
sword  of  our  "Washington,  to  be  lost  through  neg 
lect  of  his  farewell  advice? 

With  the  above  pregnant  question,  I  conclude 
this  work,  which  will  soon  be  followed  by  another, 
entitled  "  Results  of  my  Southern  and  Northern 
Experience,"  which  will  be  presented  under  the 
form  of  three  historical  parallels,  with  a  proposed 
plan  of  reconstruction. 

Hoping  soon  to  meet  the  reader  again,  I  now 
bid  him  a  temporary  adieu,  and  as  I  stand,  pour 
prendre  conge,  with  the  door-knob  in  my  left  hand, 
with  my  right  I  wave  him  an  Au  revoir! 


LETTER  FROM  THE  AUTHOR  TO  HIS  MOTHER. 

NEW  YORK,  February  15th,  1863. 
MY  DEAR  MOTHER: 

This  month,  two  long  and  dreary  years  ago, 
I  was  dragged  from  your  arms  by  an  infuriated 
mob  of  demons,  and  driven  a  fugitive  from  my 
adopted  State  of  Alabama. 

Since  that  hour,  the  war,  which  to  foretell  and 
endeavor  to  prevent  was  my  only  crime,  has  del 
uged  your  native  Virginia  in  blood,  and  double- 
locked  the  portals  of  intelligence,  at  which  I  have 
knocked  and  waited  in  vain  for  news  of  you  and 
my  only  brother. 

21 


242  THE   ALABAMA    REFUGEE. 

During  that  fearful  time,  while  Liberty  has  bid 
den  adieu  to  the  whole  country,  and  arbitrary  ar 
rests  have  filled  the  bastiles  of  the  South  and  of 
the  North  with  victims  of  a  duplicate  despotism, 
I  have  many  times  essayed  to  write  to  you  and 
brother  Marion ;  but  no  means  of  transportation 
for  letters  has  been  offered,  because  Mr.  Lincoln 
was  afraid  I  would  say  something  revealing  the 
Union  element  of  the  North,  which  is  not  tainted 
with  Abolitionism,  and  Mr.  Davis  was  afraid  I 
would  say  something  appealing  to  the  Union  ele 
ment  of  the  South,  which  is  untainted  with  Seces 
sion  ism. 

The  mutual  jealousy  of  these  two  satraps  of  each 
other,  and  of  every  thinking  mind  and  speaking 
tongue  and  pen  in  the  Eepublic,  would  be  amus 
ing,  dear  mother,  if  it  were  not  so  dreadful  in  its 
results.  Radicalism,  or  Sectionalism,  South  and 
North,  delighting  in  extremes  and  rioting  in  an 
archy,  has  planted  the  dagger  into  our  bleeding 
hearts,  and  then  commands  the  mother  and  her 
persecuted  son  to  hold  no  intercourse  in  a  country 
once  free  to  the  feet  and  the  lips  of  millions  of  now 
trampled  serfs. 

Having  failed  so  often  in  getting  news  of  you 
or  to  you  by  the  ordinary  modes  of  communica 
tion,  I  include  this  letter  in  my  book,  hoping  that 
some  good  soul  will  convey  the  whole  work  to 
your  hand  and  thus  soothe  your  sorrows  by  this 
fleeting  glimpse  of  your  exiled  son. 

I  am  agonized  with  the  unwelcome  but  often 


SCENE   THE    SEVENTH.  243 

recurring  thought  that,  perhaps,  we  are  never 
more  to  see  each  other  in  the  flesh.  The  fearful 
vision  of  your  decease  is  even  now  rending  asunder 
the  chords  of  my  heart.  The  shroud  and  the  cof 
fin  may,  ere  this,  have  intervened  their  spectral 
folds,  the  spring  verdure  may  be  even  now  waving 
above  a  new-made  grave,  in  which  reposes  the 
uriwaking  eyes  of  my  aged  mother !  while  I  am 
not  permitted  by  the  fiends  of  mobocracy  to  drop  a 
tear,  or  to  plant  a  rose  upon  her  last  resting-place. 

These  thoughts  have  preyed  upon  my  mind  and 
upon  my  health.  In  addition  to  these  reflections, 
my  wife  and  children  are  in  very  poor  health,  and 
the  former  mourns,  like  me,  over  absent  relations, 
whom  she  may  never  more  behold.  Her  old 
mother,  like  you,  is  bereaved  of  a  child  by  the 
atrocious  usurpations  of  King  Cotton  and  Emperor 
Davis.  Like  you,  she  has  a  son  forced,  by  cir 
cumstances  beyond  his  control,  into  the  armies  of 
Southern  Despotism.  Thus  I  carry  a  triple  burden, 
and  can  only  see  in  a  peaceful  reconstruction  of 
the  National  Democratic  Party  on  a  constitutional 
basis,  and  a  reconstruction  of  the  old,  or  a  more 
liberal,  Union,  by  means  of  the  united  action  of 
Unionists  South  and  North,  any  hope  of  ever  see 
ing  again  my  kith  and  kin,  any  hope  of  civiliza 
tion,  or  of  what  our  Litany  prays  every  Sabbath, 
that  God  will  give  to  all  nations — "  unity,  peace, 
and  concord."" 

If  this  letter  ever  reaches  you,  dear  mother  (and 
I  sometimes  indulge  the  fond  hope  that  it  will  find 


THE    ALABAMA    KEFUGEE. 

its  way  by  some  benevolent  hand  to  your  posses 
sion),  let  it  assure  you,  a  thousand  times,  of  my 
safety,  my  affection,  and  my  uncorrupted  Union 
ism  and  honor.  I  am  still  as  true  to  my  oath,  as 
when  I  resisted  arbitrary  arrests  in  the  Cotton 
State  of  Alabama.  /  counsel  all  patriots  every 
where  to  resist  them,  and  to  unite  on  "Washington's 
Farewell  Address,  Magna  Charta,  the  bills  of 
rights  of  the  several  States,  and  the  Constitutional 
guarantees  of  the  whole  nation,  and  conserve  the 
interests  of  Religion,  Liberty,  Law,  Commerce, 
and  Common  Sense,  ere  the  foreign  powers,  see 
ing  our  divisions  to  be  incurable,  pounce  down 
upon  the  sheepfold,  and  raven  like  wolves  at  the 
throats  of  our  blood-bought  rights  and  national 
glories. 

You  see  how  impossible  it  is  for  me  to  write 
without  advocating  the  Union  before  I  stop.  For 
this  I  was  arbitrarily  arrested  in  Alabama,  and 
may  be  again  despotically  arrested  in  the  North ; 
but  "  sink  or  swim,  live  or  die,  survive  or  perish, 
I  give  my  hand  and  my  heart"  to  the  Union  and 
to  the  liberties  of  its  oppressed  citizens. 

There  are  two  parties  in  this  country  who  desire 
the  destruction  of  the  Union,  viz. :  the  Abolition 
ists  and  Secessionists.  To  neither  of  these  do  I 
belong.  "  When  I  forget  thee,  O  Jerusalem ! 
may  my  tongue  cleave  to  the  roof  of  my  mouth !" 

Remember  me  affectionately  to  all  my  kinsfolk 
and  acquaintances.  God  made  men  to  differ,  /Sa 
tan  converts  differences,  which  are  in  themselves 


SCENE   THE    SEVENTH.  245 

good  gifts  for  the  enlargement  of  knowledge,  into 
hatred  and  war.  I  do  not  hate  but  love  my 
friends  who  differ  rationally  from  me.  If,  under 
the  madness  of  the  hour,  any  old  friend  turn 
against  me  on  account  of  opinion,  I  suppose  I 
must  wait  for  the  cooling  of  the  nation  in  the 
tears  of  repentance  before  I  can  win  him  back. 

To  my  beloved  brother  convey  my  unwavering 
love.  Please,  mother,  plant  upon  dear  father's 
grave  a  rose  for  me.  I  will  yet  press  his  sacred 
dust  with  pilgrim  feet,  when  war  shall  cease  and 
a  nation's  wounds  are  closing  up. 

God  bless  you.     Good-by. 

Your  affectionate  son, 

ROBERT. 
21* 


In  Press, 

BY    THE    SAME    AUTHOR, 

RESULTS 

OP 

My  Southern  and  Northern  Experience, 

PRESENTED   IN  THE  FOKM  OF 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 
LOAN  DEPT. 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 

on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 
Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 


REC'D  LD 
61958 


LD  21A-50m-8,'57 
(C8481slO)476B 


General  Library 

University  of  California 

Berkeley 


20236 


322205 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  UBRARY 


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m 


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